Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as interim President of Sri Lanka

Colombo, July 15: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is sworn in as the interim President after Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena accepted the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday.

Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Acting President before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Daily Mirror reported citing Prime Minister's Media Division.

He was appointed as the acting President by former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on July 13 after Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives due to the massive protest demanding his resignation.

Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden on Friday accepted the resignation of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. "Yes resignation has been accepted, legal process will follow...Members will be invited tomorrow (to elect a President)," ANI quoted Yapa Abeywarden as saying.

Rajapaksa on Thursday sent his resignation letter through an email to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenaon.

In an unusual move, Maldivian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Mohamed Nasheed earlier announced that Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa had resigned. "Sri Lankan President GR has resigned. I hope Sri Lanka can now move forward. I believe the President would not have resigned if he were still in Sri Lanka, and fearful of losing his life. I commend the thoughtful actions of the Govt of Maldives. My best wishes to the people of Sri Lanka," Nasheed, the former president who had negotiated Rajapaksa's escape to the Maldives, said in a tweet.

On the other hand, Wickremesinghe has already told the Speaker to call on party leaders to name a new Prime Minister through consensus.

He has already said he was willing to resign and make way for an all-party government to take over.

Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, if both the president and prime minister resign, the Speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days.

The Parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term.