Gotabaya Rajapaksa, until now president of Sri Lanka and who left the country amid protests in the capital, reported on Wednesday the appointment of the current prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, as interim president in charge of the nation.
Wickremesinghe’s appointment, reported by the President of Parliament in a statement to the press, comes on the same day that the nation expected Rajapaksa to make his resignation effective as he announced last Saturday, after fleeing his official residence forced by some massive protests.
The Asian country had declared a state of emergency on Wednesday after President Rajapaksa fled, the prime minister’s office announced.
“The president left the country, a state of emergency is declared to deal with the situation in the country“, the prime minister’s spokesman, Dinouk Colombage, told ‘AFP’.
(You can read: Sri Lanka: they will elect a new internal president after Rajapaksa’s resignation).
Rajapaksa, the ‘war hero’ kicked out of his official residence on Saturday for a social revolt, He offered his departure from office forced by the rejection and months of protests between the worst economic crisis in its history.
The Air Force confirmed the departure of President Rajapaksa bound for the paradisiacal Maldives archipelago, ending four days of uncertainty about the whereabouts of the leader who became known as the ‘terminator’, for his role in the civil war against the Tigers Tamils.
Without a message to the nation or a route to follow after leaving, the island nation must resolve today an immediate path to the institutional crisis and immediately go on to attend to the economic crisis, almost without reserves, heavily indebted, and submerged in deep scarcity. of basic products.
The controversial resignation, unprecedented
Gotabaya, who was elected at the end of 2019, announced his resignation through the President of Parliament after fleeing his official residence last Saturday, before it was assaulted by thousands of people in a popular revolt that had been calling for his resignation for months. The president’s announcement, however, specified that he would resign from office on July 13, without Rajapaksa having addressed the nation directly.
It is unknown if the president will go to the country to make his announcement effective, while the political parties and the population wait for a vacuum to be declared to elect his replacement.
Former Sri Lankan Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP
(You may be interested in: Sri Lanka: President and Prime Minister announce their resignation after protests).
According to the Sri Lankan Constitution, once the absence of the President and the Prime Minister is declared, the head of the Parliament assumes the functions and within a period of 30 days, the legislature elects an interim president to complete the mandate. Although the prime minister announced last Saturday that he would also step down, the future of the country is unclear after the announcement of his appointment.
The opposition parties, which have already begun to elect their candidates from among the members of Parliament, have already agreed to elect the new president of Sri Lanka on July 20.
Sri Lankan Police fired tear gas to contain thousands of protesters.
Meanwhile, new protests took place on Wednesday outside the Wickremesinghe’s office to demand that the prime minister step down from the post to which he was appointed just two months ago.
(We recommend you read: Sri Lanka: protesters enter the official residence of the President).
In response, Sri Lankan Police fired tear gas to contain thousands of protesters outside the Prime Minister’s office in the capital Colombo, according to ‘AFP’ journalists on the spot.
The crisis in which the Asian country finds itself
The election of the new president and his cabinet is a
urgent for Sri Lanka, which is currently negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a rescue program that will allow it to restore fiscal stability.
Protests in Sri Lanka after political crisis due to resignation of the president.
This nation of 22 million people urgently needs cash flow to purchase fuel, food and medicine. Sri Lanka is facing the worst economic crisis since its independence from the British Empire in 1948, caused in part by heavy debt, misguided government policies, and the impact of the Easter attacks and the coronavirus pandemic on tourism.
With international reserves at record lows and a decision to suspend payments on its foreign debt last April, Sri Lanka approached the IMF seeking a line of credit to restore fiscal stability, while trying to reach agreements with its lenders. for debt restructuring.
More international news
– Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump seem to have presidential forces
– Spain: the macabre murders of women for which they accuse Colombian
– Shooting in Uvalde: videos of police inaction during the massacre revealed
AFP and EFE
#Sri #Lankan #Prime #Minister #Appointed #Interim #President #Crisis