Uncertainty reigns in Sri Lanka awaiting Rajapaksa’s resignation

First modification: 07/14/2022 – 13:35

With our special envoys in Colombo, Sebastian Farcis Y Eat Bastin.

After having invaded the prime minister’s office, calm returns to Colombo this Thursday, July 14. The Sri Lankan protesters, who forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country after the invasion of his residence last weekend, have announced that they will evacuate the government buildings they have been occupying for several days. “We are peacefully withdrawing from the presidential palace, the presidential secretariat and the prime minister’s office effective immediately, but we will continue our fight,” a spokeswoman said.

Until this Wednesday, the demonstrators affirmed that they would only leave when President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had resigned, something that did not happen. In the evening, they tried to take over Parliament and a national curfew was declared.

“The president is gone, so there is no point in staying here,” Lahiru Wirasekara, one of the movement’s leaders, told RFI. “Now the government is imposing a curfew and military power. to the army and that this ends in massacre. But we have sent our message to the politicians: these buildings are property of the people, and if they abuse them and misuse public money, we can get them back, “he added.

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constitutional ambiguity

The movement will continue to operate from Colombo Bay, opposite the President’s office. He first fled to the Maldives before flying back to Singapore.

The country is in a constitutional limbo. “The president has not sent the resignation letter that he promised. The prime minister has inherited power from him, but he does not want to resign either,” laments Hashita, a 25-year-old student interviewed amid the protests.

“Gotabaya Rajapaksa has ceded his powers to the prime minister under article 37 of the constitution. It is supposed to be an emergency measure when the president is unable to serve. But the law does not set any time limit. So in theory, legally, Ranil Wickremesinghe can act as president for an indefinite period”, explains Gehan Gunatilleke, an expert in constitutional law in Colombo. “But it would, of course, be an untenable situation”, he adds.

Only the official resignation of Rajapaksa can lead to the formation of a new government and unblock the situation.