Rajapaksa’s resignation accepted, new president in under a week
THE Speaker of Parliament in crisis-hit Sri Lanka has accepted a resignation letter from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, having verified its authenticity after it was flown from Singapore late on Thursday (July 14), he told reporters.
“From this point, we will move to constitutionally appoint a new president,” the speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said on Friday (July 15).
Sri Lanka’s Parliament will vote on a new president on Wednesday, the speaker’s office said Friday.
Nominations for the post of president will be received on Tuesday and MPs are due to vote the following day, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana’s office said in a brief statement.
“My intention is to complete this task successfully at the earliest,” the Speaker said in a televised announcement. “With the proud distinction of being South Asia’s oldest democracy, we will conduct this in the most democratic and transparent way.”
The Speaker called for support from all parties, including the security forces, to help ensure a smooth transition and transfer of power. The process to select a new president will kick off with Parliament convening on July 16.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was also worn in as the country’s acting president on Friday, a government official said.
He said he would follow the constitutional process and establish law and order in the South Asian country.
He also vowed to start moves to increase Parliament’s powers and reduce those of the president, as demanded by protesters.
Rajapaksa had ceded to the months long street protests calling for his ouster over fuel shortages, surging prices and financial mismanagement that’s left the South Asian nation facing its worst economic crisis.
The resignation and the selection of a new president could mark a turning point for the bankrupt country, which is negotiating a bailout with the International Monetary Fund and seeking dollars to pay for essential imports.
Headline inflation hit 54.6 per cent last month and the central bank has warned that it could rise to 70 per cent in coming months.
Rajapaksa last weekend had announced his intention to quit after angry protesters swarmed his official residence and office, but missed a July 13 deadline after fleeing to the Maldives.
Following a brief stop in the Indian Ocean archipelago, Rajapaksa on Thursday arrived in Singapore in what the city-state’s foreign ministry said was a private visit.
Sri Lanka’s opposition parties are now trying to cobble together an all-party government and pick candidates who can take over from Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party on Friday nominated Wickremesinghe to take up the top job full-time.
The opposition’s presidential nominee is Sajith Premadasa, while the potential dark horse is senior lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s top court on Friday barred two of Rajapaksa’s brothers, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, from leaving the country without permission until July 28, according to anti-corruption group Transparency International Sri Lanka.
The group approached the court seeking “action against persons responsible for the current economic crisis”. BLOOMBERG, AFP, REUTERS
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