Speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, on Wednesday called an emergency meeting of party leaders following reports of the country's president fleeing country, Sri Lankan media said
BANGKOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2022) Speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, on Wednesday called an emergency meeting of party leaders following reports of the country's president fleeing country, Sri Lankan media said.
The speaker is convening an urgent meeting of leaders of political parties and parliamentary factions on Wednesday at 17:00 (11:30 GMT), according to the Ada Derana news portal.
Earlier in the day, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa confirmed to Abeywardena his intention to resign and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as interim president. Wickremesinghe has declared a countrywide state of emergency and a curfew in Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital. Rajapaksa, who was supposed to leave his post on Wednesday, fled late Tuesday night to the Maldives.
On Saturday, the protesters took control of the residences of the president and the prime minister in Colombo, demanding the officials' resignation. The parliament will hold a presidential election on July 20 and appoint a caretaker government, which will remain in power until the next general election.
