Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday said that he will resign to allow an all-party cabinet to take office.
Wickremesinghe indicated his desire to stand aside earlier in the day at a gathering of party leaders, allowing all-party leaders to assume command of the country.
Taking to Twitter, Wickremesinghe said, “To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government. To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister.”
To ensure the continuation of the Government including the safety of all citizens I accept the best recommendation of the Party Leaders today, to make way for an All-Party Government.
To facilitate this I will resign as Prime Minister.
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) July 9, 2022
Wickremesinghe will remain Prime Minister until an all-party administration takes over, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Wickremesinghe stated at the all-party leaders’ meeting that he made the decision to step down because island-wide fuel distribution is set to resume this week, the World Food Programme Director is set to visit the country this week, and the debt sustainability report for the IMF is set to be completed soon.
Wickremesinghe stated that he agrees with the Opposition party leaders’ request to safeguard residents’ safety.
The whereabouts of embattled President Rajapaksa were unknown after he was evacuated out of his official house in Colombo on Friday ahead of Saturday’s rallies, during which hundreds of enraged anti-government protestors surged into his official mansion.
According to the party’s general secretary, Sagara Kariyawasam, a group of MPs from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna have written to Rajapaksa asking him to stand down and allow another leader to take over with a clear parliament majority. According to local media, at least 16 MPs signed the letter.
After hundreds of enraged anti-government protestors poured into Rajapaksa’s official house, Sri Lanka’s prominent attorneys’ group questioned his ability to operate and continue in power.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is in the throes of historic economic instability, the worst in seven decades, exacerbated by a severe lack of foreign cash, leaving it unable to pay for crucial imports of petroleum and other necessities.