Two months after massive protests against the government in view of unprecedented economic crisis, both President and Prime Minister have announced their resignations on Saturday, facilitating for the formation of all-party government.
Hours after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence in the capital of Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Saturday agreed to step down from his position. Rajapaksa has informed that he will resign from the Presidency on the 13th July,
This was announced by the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena , following the announcement of resignation by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe from his post.
Earlier, Abeywardene in a letter addressed to the President informed him that he should resign from his post immediately and convene Parliament in seven days to appoint an acting President, Daily Mirror reported. He has also informed that the new administration should be formed with a new Prime Minister and then go for a general election after a specific time period.
Dramatic visuals from outside Rajapakse’s residence on Saturday showed a sea of demonstrators storming into the compound, tearing down security cordons placed by police, taking a dip in the swimming pool and romping through his kitchen and home.
Earlier, Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned on Saturday amid the ongoing the crisis in the island nation. He told party leaders he was taking the decision to step down in view of the fact that island-wide fuel distribution is due to recommence this week, the World Food Programme Director is due to visit the country this week and the debt sustainability report for the IMF is due to be finalised shortly.
“To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government. To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister,” he wrote on Twitter.
Wickremesinghe had called earlier for an urgent meeting of political party leaders to discuss the crisis in the country caused by the public protest, and the demand for his resignation.
Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo broke through police barricades and stormed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s official residence in one of the largest anti-government marches in the crisis-hit country this year.
This came after reports of the President fleeing his home surfaced. Some protesters, holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets, broke into the president’s residence, video footage from local TV news NewsFirst channel showed.
The island of 22 million people is struggling under a severe foreign exchange shortage that has limited essential imports of fuel, food and medicine, plunging it into the worst financial turmoil in seven decades.
Thousands of people swarmed into Colombo’s government district, shouting slogans against the president and dismantling several police barricades to reach Rajapaksa’s house. Police fired shots in the air but were unable to stop the angry crowd from surrounding the presidential residence.
