The Sri Lankan Parliament will meet on July 15 and elect its new President on July 20. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country on Friday in the face of massive protests, will send his resignation on Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abewardana informed.
The opposition parties held an all-party meeting on Monday in which it was agreed that it is “essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution and to take forward essential services”. The opposition leaders have decided to convene the Parliament on July 15 and elect the new President. The nominations will be accepted on July 19, only after Gotabaya sends his formal resignation. A new President will be elected the following day.
The Speaker also confirmed that the entire cabinet has agreed to resign once an agreement is reached. However, the vacancy can be announced and a new President can be elected only after Gotabaya sends his resignation.
As per the Sri Lanka Constitution, if both the President and the Prime Minister quit office, the Speaker can act as the interim President and a new President will have to be elected within 30 days. The new President will have to be elected from one of the existing parliament members, who can hold office for the remaining two years of current president Gotabaya.
Gotabaya had reportedly fled the country as the people’s protests reached a new high on Saturday and the demonstrators thronged the Galle Face seafront in Colombo near the President’s Secretariat. Protesters stormed the presidential palace and his office and also set on fire Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence.
The Rajapaksas who were the most popular among the majority Sinhalese till a year before had been facing the wrath of the people since the island nation fell into a deep economic crisis.
