The formal announcement of Rajapaksa’s resignation was made in a televised address by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Friday morning. Rajapaksa is currently in Singapore, where he fled on Wednesday via the Maldives. His resignation letter was sent late Thursday night, first by email and then the original was sent by diplomatic flight, but the official announcement was delayed until Friday while the speaker’s office verified the letter. Rajapaksa’s decision to flee without resigning had left Sri Lanka in a state of political limbo for more than 36 hours and tensions had risen in the country, which remained under a state of emergency. Abeywardena confirmed that, in accordance with the constitution, the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, will be sworn in as interim president on Friday and will retain the role until a new vote is held by MPs in parliament next week. The process of voting and validating a new president is likely to take seven days, the speaker said. Sri Lankans celebrate as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa steps down – video Abeywardena called on all political party leaders to “extend their support” for the smooth selection of a new president and to “support democracy” during the transition. Parliament will reconvene on Saturday to begin the process of installing a new all-party “unity” government, made up of a number of political parties. Opposition parties said they would meet this morning and submit a new name for prime minister, likely Sajith Premadasa, leader of the largest opposition party. Rajapaksa’s fall as president follows months of sustained protests calling for him to step down. He had ruled with six members of his politically powerful family, including his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa who was prime minister and his brother Basil Rajapaksa who was finance minister. But while all members of his family have been forced to resign in recent months due to public pressure, the president has remained in power, angering protesters in the streets. Many people hold Rajapaksa responsible for driving Sri Lanka into its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, which has led to severe shortages of fuel, food and medicine. Along with several members of his powerful family who held political positions, he is accused of financial mismanagement and widespread corruption. Rajapaksa has not directly addressed the Sri Lankan people since he was evacuated from his home on Saturday morning before hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Colombo to demand his resignation. He had promised to hand over power on July 13 to ensure a “peaceful transition of power”, but the deadline had passed with no sign of his resignation letter. Rajapaksa has immunity from arrest while president, and many believed he was seeking a safe country before stepping down to protect himself from prosecution on long-running war crimes and corruption charges. The Singaporean government confirmed that Rajapaksa had not sought asylum in their country. Its final destination remains unknown.
