Sri Lankan opposition leader calls prime minister’s appointment as interim president a “tragedy”

He denounces that Wickremesinghe does not have the authority to declare a state of emergency and declare a curfew

July 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The leader of the Sri Lankan opposition, Sajit Premadasa, described this Wednesday as a “tragedy” the appointment of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as interim president, while denouncing that Wickremesinghe does not have the authority to declare a state of emergency and declare a curfew.

“A parliamentarian with one seat is appointed prime minister. Now this same person is appointed interim president. This is the Rajapaksa style of democracy. What a farce. A tragedy,” Premadasa said through a series of messages posted on his account. on the social network Twitter.

Thus, he pointed out that “a prime minister becomes acting president only if the president appoints him as such, his position is vacant or the president of the Supreme Court, after consultation with the president of Parliament, considers that the president is incapable of perform their duties”. “In the absence of all this, the prime minister cannot exercise the powers of the president and cannot declare a curfew or a state of emergency,” he has settled.

Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency throughout the country early in the morning and has imposed a curfew in the west of the island in the face of new protests, hours after Rajapaksa left the country in the face of his announced resignation during the day of today but before he was named interim president.

Shortly after, the president of the Sri Lankan Parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardhane, revealed that Rajapaksa had appointed the prime minister as interim president, in line with article 37.1 of the Constitution, which provides that in case of illness, absence from the country and other reasons that prevent him from exercising his powers, the president can appoint the prime minister to office during this period of time.

After that, Wickremesinghe has urged the country’s security forces to do what is necessary to “restore order” to end the “fascist threat” as a result of the strong wave of protests and has confirmed the creation of a commission made up of three commanders of the Armed Forces and the inspector general of the Police, who have given authorization to take the pertinent measures to stop the advance of the demonstrators.

Thus, he has specified that the authorities “cannot allow the presidential office or the residence of the president to be assaulted and destroyed” by the protesters, whom he has urged to “cooperate with the authorities”, after a group of protesters broke into his official residence to demand his departure from power.

Wickremesinghe has assured in recent days that he will resign once an inclusive government is formed after Rajapaksa’s resignation, although the protesters, who have been mobilizing for weeks to protest against the economic crisis and the worsening quality of life, have demanded that the first minister who also resigns. The interim president is expected to be elected no later than July 20 and pending elections, which should not be held later than March 2023.

Rajapaksa thus gives in after several months of protests over rising prices and lack of food, medicine and fuel. The popular revolution that ended up breaking out this Saturday — with images of people breaking into luxurious official residences, including that of the president — has thus forced the definitive fall of the Rajapaksa family, after Gotabaya forced his brother Mahinda to stepping down as prime minister in a futile attempt to quell the protests.