Forced to leave the country, Gotabaya Rajapaksa sent his letter of resignation Thursday by email. Pending the election of a new Head of State by Parliament, the interim presidency has been entrusted to the Prime Minister.
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The end of the presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka. His resignation was formally accepted by the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament on Friday July 15, the day after the letter was sent by email announcing his desire to leave his post. On July 20, Parliament will elect a new head of state to succeed him.
Nominations for the presidency will be received on July 19 and MPs will have to vote the next day, the House Speaker’s Office explained. In the meantime, the interim presidency has been entrusted to the Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his residence on Saturday, stormed by demonstrators accusing him of his mismanagement at a time when Sri Lanka is going through the most serious economic crisis in its history. He managed to get out of his country on Wednesday to go to the Maldives, where he took a plane to Singapore on Thursday. He is the first head of state to step down since Sri Lanka opted for presidential rule in 1978.
In the capital, Colombo, placed under curfew, a small but jubilant crowd, some waving the national flag, danced and sang to express their joy in front of the secretariat of the presidency when the news of his resignation was announced. The day before, the demonstrators had put an end to the occupation of public buildings while promising to continue to put pressure on power.