Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has officially resigned, which has been confirmed by the Speaker of Parliament.
The last few days have been dramatic in Sri Lanka, during public protests against the government after the worst economic crisis, protesters stormed the presidential palace and announced that they would not leave the presidential palace until the resignation of the president and the prime minister. After which the Sri Lankan President fled the country and went first to the Maldives and then to Singapore.
Now Gotabaya Rajapakse’s resignation was formally announced by Speaker of Parliament Mahindra Yapa Abhaywardene during a televised address on the morning of July 15.
Gotabaya Rajapakse submitted his resignation on the night of July 14, but due to delays in the confirmation process, the formal announcement took place on Friday morning.
After the president fled the country without resigning, a state of emergency was imposed in Sri Lanka while public protests intensify.
In his address, the Speaker of the Parliament confirmed that as per the constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be sworn in as the Acting President on July 15 and the post will remain with him until the election of a new President.
Sri Lanka’s new president will be elected by members of parliament next week.
He also requested the cooperation of all the political leaders for the election of the new president.
The Sri Lankan Parliament has been convened on July 16 to form a new unity government that will include multiple political parties.
Opposition parties are likely to nominate Sujita Prema Dasa as the new Prime Minister.
It should be noted that Sri Lanka has been suffering from problems like food, medicine, fuel, electricity shortage, and inflation for many months due to which people are protesting against the government.
During this protest, people held Gotabaya Rajapakse responsible for the current crisis in Sri Lanka and demanded his resignation.
Earlier, Gotabaya’s brother Mahindra Rajapaksa had to leave the Prime Ministership due to public protest
