MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th July, 2022) Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has not yet departed from the the Maldives to Singapore and has not given his resignation letter to the parliament speaker in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror online newspaper reported on Thursday, citing sources.
Rajapaksa and his wife, alongside with two security officers, did not board a regular flight to Singapore on Wednesday night due to security concerns. They are now preparing to depart on a private jet, the online newspaper said.
The Maldive authorities have increased security presence at the Velana International Airport, since the Sri Lankan president plans to depart from the country soon, according to India Today.
On Wednesday, during the meeting of parliamentary party leaders, Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena stated that in a telephone conversation Rajapaksa said that he would submit his resignation letter before midnight.
Sri Lankan newspaper Newsfirst reported that in the absence of an official resignation letter the speaker is now looking into legal provisions to announce that the president has vacated his post. It is possible that Rajapaksa could give in his resignation after arriving in Singapore, Newsfirst said, citing an unnamed source.
Sri Lanka is mired in a political deadlock caused by the country's worst economic crisis since gaining independence in 1948. The country has been hit with anti-governmental protests which culminated on Saturday, when activists in Colombo took control of the residences of the president and the prime minister, demanding their resignation.
Rajapaksa, who fled the country late Tuesday, appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as interim president. Wickremesinghe has declared a countrywide state of emergency and a curfew in Colombo. 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.
