COLOMBO (Sri Lanka), July 15 : Sri Lanka’s parliamentary speaker accepted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation on Friday (July 15) after he fled to Singapore to escape a popular uprising brought about by his country’s worst economic crisis in seven decades.
He told reporters that with the resignation, the process would start to appoint a new president and he asked that Sri Lankans allow the democratic process to run its course. Abeywardena said he hoped to complete the process of selecting a new president in seven days and that parliament will reconvene on Saturday. The agenda for the weekend meeting will be decided later on Friday.
Related news > > > Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa flees country before scheduled resignation
Rajapaksa landed in Singapore on Thursday (July 14) having fled to the Maldives early on Wednesday (July 13) on a military jet along with his wife and two security guards.
Street protests against Sri Lanka’s economic crisis have simmered for months and came to a head last weekend when hundreds of thousands of people took over government buildings in Colombo, blaming the Rajapaksa family and allies for runaway inflation, shortages of basic goods, and corruption. – TVS
