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Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa informed her that he will resign on July 13.
The announcement came after a request by the speaker of the parliament, who demanded the resignation of the president after a meeting of the party leaders.
Even the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesintha, also said that he too is ready to resign, according to CNN.
He tweeted on Saturday that he accepted the party leaders’ recommendation to resign.
“To ensure the continuity of the government including the safety of all citizens, I accept the recommendation of the party leaders today, to pave the way for an all-party government”Wickremesinghe tweeted.
“To facilitate this, I will resign as prime minister“, he said.
Wickremesinghe has not yet submitted his resignation letter to the president.
Under Sri Lanka’s constitution, if Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa resign, the speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days. Meanwhile, the parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold office for the remaining two years of the current term.
About 100,000 protesters gathered outside the president’s official residence on Saturday, demanding Rajapaksa’s resignation.
Video broadcast on Sri Lankan television and social media showed protesters entering the President’s House, office and Rajapaksa’s residence in the commercial capital of Colombo after breaking through security cordons set up by police.
Images showed demonstrators inside the building hanging placards from the balcony, as well as swimming in the residence’s pool.
Local media reported that protesters vandalized the prime minister’s official residence, known as Temple Trees, and also set fire to his private home, according to his office.
The number of people injured in Sri Lanka’s protests has risen to 55, according to Dr. Pushpa Zoysa at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, where three people received gunshot wounds.
The South Asian nation is suffering its worst financial crisis in recent history, leaving millions struggling to secure basic necessities like food, medicine.
Tens of thousands of locals have taken to the streets in recent months, calling on the country’s leaders to resign over economic mismanagement.
Schools have been suspended and fuel has been limited to essential services. Patients are unable to travel to hospitals due to fuel shortages and food prices are rising.
In several major cities, including Colombo, hundreds have been forced to queue for hours to buy fuel, with clashes with the police and army as they wait.
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