Letter sent via email from Singapore; announcement to be made today
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday emailed his resignation letter to the Speaker, soon after he was allowed by Singapore to enter the city-state on a “private visit”, ending the suspense over his future in the face of massive public revolt against his Government’s mishandling of the economy. A Saudi airlines flight carrying Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore from the Maldives where he had fled early Wednesday without resigning as promised to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new Government.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s media secretary Indunil Abeywardena on Thursday night said a resignation letter from President Rajapaksa has been received through the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore.
“The Speaker wishes to inform that an official statement on this
would be made on Friday after verification and legal formalities,” Abeywardena said in a statement. The Speaker wants to see the original signature, which will be brought to Colombo from Singapore by flight by a diplomatic officer, sources said.
The development comes on a day when anti-Government protesters announced to vacate some of the administrative buildings, including the President’s House and the PM Office, they have been occupying since April 9.
With Rajapaksa’s resignation Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will be the President.