Sri Lanka Crisis: Parliament will reconvene on July 15 and a new president will be elected on July 20, the parliamentary speaker said on Monday, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to resign on Wednesday amid a devastating economic crisis.
“Nominations for the next president will be presented to parliament on 19 July. On 20 July parliament will vote to elect a new president,” Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a statement.
“During the party leaders’ meeting held today, it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution and to take forward essential services.”
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Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose private home was set alight by protesters, has said he will step down. His office said Rajapaksa had confirmed his resignation plans to the prime minister, adding that the Cabinet would resign once a deal was reached to form an all-party government.
Sri Lanka is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades. Over the weekend, thousands of protesters in capital Colombo stormed the official residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and set fire to the private residence of Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, forcing the former to flee. On Sunday, opposition parties decided to form an all-party interim government after the two leaders resign.
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