Sri Lanka Update: Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as interim President
15 July, 2022 | Pravina Srivastava
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took the oath of office as temporary President on Friday.
Following the acceptance of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation by Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe took the oath of office as temporary President on Friday.
According to the Daily Mirror, which cited the Prime Minister’s Media Division, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the Acting President before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. On July 13, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa named Wickremesinghe as the interim leader after Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives in response to a ferocious uprising calling for his resignation.
After landing in Singapore yesterday, Gotabaya Rajapaksa handed in his letter of resignation, thus leaving the presidency.
Speaker of the House Abeywarden told, “Yes, the President’s resignation has been accepted, and the legal procedure will now begin… Tomorrow, members will be asked to vote for the president.”
Abeywardena addressed the news conference and stated that as of July 14, the President has formally resigned from all of his legal obligations.
As per Abeywardena, the Special Provisions Act No. 2 of 1981’s guidelines and Article 40 of the Constitution shall be followed in the selection of the President.
Following large throngs of demonstrators surrounded his home on July 9, Rajapaksa, 73, fled and declared he would hand in his resignation letter on Wednesday.