Sri Lanka's Opposition Parties Agree to Form Unity Government - Reports

NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th July, 2022) Opposition parties in Sri Lanka have agreed to form an interim government of unity after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns, the Deccan Herald newspaper reports.

Sri Lanka's commercial capital, Colombo, was rocked by major protests on Saturday. President Rajapaksa was evacuated and is expected to resign on July 13. Opposition parties held talks on Sunday to discuss ways of getting Sri Lanka out of the grave political crisis.

"We agreed in principle to form a government of unity with all parties participation for an interim period," Wimal Weerawansa of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party's breakaway group said on Sunday, as quoted by Deccan Herald. "This will be a government where all parties are represented," he said.

In his turn, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, another leader of the breakaway group, said that opposition parties need not wait for Rajapaksa's resignation on July 13.

According to Deccan Herald, party leaders will meet on Monday, July 11, to discuss the convening of the House for the transition of power for a new government, aiming for an interim government of all parties that will function until parliamentary elections.

Parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana has already informed Rajapaksa of the decisions made at the Saturday emergency meeting of the party leaders, which was convened in response to the mass protests in Colombo. The letter called for the immediate resignation of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and provided for convening the parliament within 7 days to appoint an acting president.

Speaker Abeywardana is expected to become the acting president, since both the president and prime minister are resigning.