Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa emailed his resignation as head of state to the Speaker of Parliament shortly after landing in Singapore, a parliamentary official said.
According to the same source, the resignation letter was sent to the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office for a legal review before it is officially accepted.
Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore this Thursday on a flight from the Maldives after fleeing his country following a wave of popular protests, according to French news agency AFP.
The Singaporean authorities claim that this is a private visit and that Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not receive political asylum.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who made decisions in his capacity as interim president, declared a state of emergency and increased the powers of the military and police.
In recent days, protesters have seized several government buildings, demanding the resignation of top political leaders, accusing Rajapaksa and his powerful political family of years of siphoning money from the state treasury and hastening the country’s collapse due to economic mismanagement.
The family denied allegations of corruption, but Rajapaksa admitted that some of his policies contributed to the downfall.
Several months of protests peaked over the weekend, with many protesters storming the president’s home and office, as well as the prime minister’s official residence.
Images of protesters inside the buildings – lounging on elegant sofas and beds, posing at tables and strolling through opulent surroundings – have captured worldwide attention.
On Tuesday, protesters unleashed their wrath on the prime minister by storming his office in Colombo after the fugitive president named him interim head of state.
Despite opposition from security forces who fired tear gas and water cannons, the crowd entered the building waving Sri Lankan flags, according to AFP.
“Go home, Ranil! Go home, Gotha!” they shouted before bursting into the prime minister’s office.
The appointment of Wickremesinghe as interim president of the country was announced by Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.
“Because of his absence from the country, President Rajapaksa told me that he has appointed the prime minister as acting president in accordance with the constitution,” said Mahinda Yapa Abeiwardana in a short televised address.
In addition to the prime minister’s premises, other protesters stormed the main state television station, Rupavahini, and disrupted regular programming, which was replaced with other recorded programs.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
