Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lankan President

Colombo, July 14: After months of protest, Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa finally stepped down on Thursday.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has sent the letter of resignation from his post as President of Sri Lanka to the Speaker, reported local media.

However, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in a special statement, has now clarified that the official announcement of Rajapaksa's resignation will happen on Friday at 7.30am (local time).

Speaker Abeywardena, who on Thursday, informed Rajapaksa that he should submit his letter of resignation as soon as possible or else he will consider other options to remove him from the office.

Singapore on Thursday said it has allowed Rajapaksa to enter the city-state on a "private visit" from the Maldives and there was no request for asylum from him, after he fled the country in the face of public revolt against his government's mishandling of the economy.

Acting President Wickremesinghe on Wednesday urged the Speaker to appoint a consensus Prime Minister that had the backing of all the parties. The principal opposition party and the group of parliamentarians who broke away from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party said Sajith Premadasa is their Presidential nominee.

Political parties have asked the Speaker to explore ways to remove Rajapaksa from office if he continues to delay submitting his resignation.