Sirlanka President
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has finally bowed to pressure and announced his official resignation for Wednesday.
President Gotabaya confirmed he will be resigning in a statement on Monday, through the prime minister’s office.
On Monday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said in a statement it had been informed by Rajapaksa that he would step down on Wednesday.
His chickened out announcement comes as thousands of protesters have turned his official residence in Colombia into a local tourism site,refusing to leave until both President and his brother former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resign leadership.
On Friday hundreds of Srilankans stormed the official residence of both leaders and have since settled in using his swimming pool, gym, bedding’s, kitchen while taking pictures.
Sirlanka President
Rajapaksa departed the presidential palace to an unknown destination before protesters entered on Saturday, calling for his resignation. The 73-year-old leader escaped through a back door under escort from naval personnel and was taken away by boat, heading to the northeast of the island, official sources told AFP.
His brother, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, is at a naval base in the country, the sources say.
The parliament Speaker had earlier said the president would resign on 13 July.
Under Sri Lanka’s constitution, his resignation can only formally be accepted when he resigns by letter to the parliament Speaker – which has yet to happen.
The 73-year-old Wickremesinghe will automatically become acting president in the event of Rajapaksa’s resignation.
Protesters had been camping outside the Presidential Secretariat for over three months demanding his resignation over the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.
Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to a point where the country has run out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports leading to severe hardships for the 22 million population.
