Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa Reportedly Resigns Amid Political Turmoil

Thousands of protesters stormed the president's house and secretariat on Saturday, forcing Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee to an unknown location. Blaming the president's family for bankrupting the Sri Lankan economy, protesters were determined to get rid of every member from the seat of power.

After months of protests in Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa signed his resignation letter, dated 13 July, the Daily Mirror reported.

Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the Speaker of Parliament, is expected to announce the move publicly later today.

The resignation letter was handed to a senior government official after Rajapaksa met defense staff at a naval vessel within the island nation's territorial waters on Monday.

Rajapaksa told the Speaker on Sunday that he was willing to step down.

The Daily Mirror reported that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who also announced his intention to resign from his post, will be sworn in as President on Wednesday until Parliament chooses a new President in a vote on 20 July.

However, there is speculation that the parliamentary speaker will act as interim president for the time being.

On Monday, both the leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party, Sajith Premadasa, and the head of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, declared their intention to stand for the presidency. The SJB has 50 MPs in Parliament and is the largest opposition party.

A candidate needs to secure the support of 113 parliamentarians to win the coveted post.

Sri Lanka, a country with 22 million inhabitants, is facing severe food and fuel shortages because of bankruptcy caused by poor economics and the blow dealt by the COVID-19 pandemic and 2019's Easter attack to the vitally important tourism sector.

The Indian Ocean Island owes $51Bln and has not been able to cover interest payments on its loans since April this year.