Sri Lanka: Shortly after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation was accepted on Friday, Sri Lanka will have a new President within seven days, the parliamentary speaker.
Gotabaya has legally resigned” with effect from Thursday, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana told reporters, after Rajapaksa notified the speaker from Singapore he was stepping down.
The Sri Lankan Speaker has said that Parliament will meet on Saturday.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa submitted his resignation late Thursday after arriving in Singapore from the Maldives, where he initially escaped after demonstrators overran his palace at the weekend.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday emailed his resignation letter to the parliament speaker. He had fled to the Maldives earlier this week and on Thursday took a Saudi Airlines plane to Singapore. Sources have, however, refuted media reports on their onward travel. His escape to Maldives was negotiated by former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, sources said.