Wickremesinghe to be sworn in as interim President of Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be sworn in on Wednesday as President for a temporary period till a new President is elected by Parliament on 20 July. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reportedly signed his resignation on Monday which will be handed over to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to make a public announcement on Wednesday 13 July.

According to reports in the local media, Rajapaksa’s presidency will come to an end after the public announcement of his resignation by the Speaker on Wednesday. In a statement, Speaker Abeywardena said that after a meeting of the leaders all political parties, it was decided to convene Parliament on 15 July to begin the process of presidential election. Nominations for

the presidency will be filed on 19 July and a vote will be taken a day later to elect a new President.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa is set to be nominated for presidency by his party SJB.

Meanwhile in the day, a petition was moved in the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka seeking to stop former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, former Central Bank Governors Ajith Nivard Cabraal and W.D. Lakshman and Finance Secretary S.R. Atygalle from fleeing the country. According to local media reports, the petition was filed by Sri Lankan swimmer and coach Julian Bolling, former chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayaratne, Transparency International and Jehan Canaga Retna.

The development came after former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa tried to flee Sri Lanka on Monday evening and was stopped from boarding a flight to Dubai. Basil is the youngest brother of President Rajapaksa. The former minister is reported to have attempted to flee to Washington via Dubai amid massive ongoing popular protests against President Rajpaksa’s government after the country plunged into worst economic crisis. However, airport immigration officials refused to let him leave the country following protests by passengers and Basil had to return home.

In addition, the petition has sought an order to take legal action against those responsible for financial irregularities and mismanagement of the economy, resulting in the country facing the worst crisis.

In a related development, Sri Lankan Nidahas Sewaka Sangamaya (SLNSS) of Sri Lankan airlines on Tuesday announced the withdrawal of the services at the Silk Route Lounge of the Sri Lankan airport. The trade union took the decision to prevent officials responsible for the ongoing crisis from leaving the country. Earlier in the day, immigration officials also withdrew from operations after Basil’s reported attempt to leave the country.