Despite claims that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down on July 13, the president has yet to submit a letter of resignation. The majority called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to take the reins of the government and continue talks with the International Monetary Fund. The names of other presidential candidates are ready.
Colombo () – After thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace and the prime minister’s residence, the Sri Lankan opposition parties presented their proposals for the appointment of a president and a prime minister who should head a unity government. national.
On July 9, thousands of people occupied the President’s residence demanding the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and then burned down Temple Trees, the private residence of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, destroying many valuables, including some rare books. A faction of the ruling party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), has also called on Rajapaksa to resign. Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana had stated that the president would resign on July 13 and the prime minister’s office today confirmed the president’s intentions. However, there has been no direct news of this yet. According to some high-level political sources, Rajapaksa – whose exact whereabouts are unknown – had confirmed that he would end his presidency on July 13, allowing Wickremesinghe or a new leader to be sworn in.
The most important political parties in the country, including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), -the main opposition party-, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the independent group SLPP met yesterday and proposed the appointment Dullas Alahapperuma MP as president and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa as prime minister of a potential national unity government, which should lead the country out of the current crisis. Other deputies have proposed the name of Dhammika Perera for the position of president.
Several political analysts consider that if Rajapaksa “puts an end” to his presidency on July 13 after handing in his resignation to the speaker of the House, according to current legislation, presidential and parliamentary elections will be called for March next year. In the event that both the president and the prime minister leave office, the speaker of the House would be appointed interim head of state until parliament appoints one of its members to hold the presidency for the remainder of the term.
The Prime Minister met last night with the political parties and, according to informed sources, would have a majority of approximately 115 seats in Parliament. That is why several parliamentarians asked him not to resign and assume the presidency, so as not to abandon the country in the midst of the economic crisis, especially now that talks with the International Monetary Fund were underway.
Experts told that if Wickremesinghe remains in office, he should be sworn in as president this week, after Rajapaksa’s resignation. The prime minister will have to concentrate on concluding an agreement with the IMF and restoring “some kind of economic normalcy.” It is not yet clear who will be the prime ministerial candidate to take Wickremesinghe’s place in that case, but he is likely to “allow Parliament” to appoint a suitable lawmaker.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa also held separate talks. Should he become president, he claimed, his prime ministerial candidate would be Dullas Allahapperuma. According to analysts, until last night Sajith had not been able to obtain the support of the majority in Parliament.
Today all the cabinet ministers resigned to form a purely political government. The European Union and the United States called on Sri Lankan parties to “cooperate, focus and work quickly” to achieve a peaceful, democratic and orderly transition of power to resolve the country’s and India’s worst post-independence economic crisis. expressed its solidarity to resolve the economic and political crisis. Pope Francis also yesterday renewed his call for peace in Sri Lanka.
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