Rajapaksa sent resignation letter to Parliament Speaker through email: Reports

Sri Lankas embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday sent his resignation letter through an email to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenaon whose office is checking the legality of the document according to media reports hereThe Speaker said that he has received the resignation letter from President Rajapaksa and his office was checking the legality of the letter Hiru news portal reportedCiting sources it said that the 73yearold leader has emailed his signed resignation letter to the Speaker from SingaporeAlso Read Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa to stay in Singapore not travel to Middle EastThe Speaker wants to see the original signature The original will be brought to Colombo from Singapore in the next available flight by a diplomatic officer sources addedIn an unusual move Maldivian Majlis Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed earlier announced that Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa has resignedSri 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 Rajapaksas escape to the Maldives said in a tweetThe development comes on a day when antigovernment protesters announced to vacate some of the administrative buildings including the Presidents House and the PM Office they have been occupying since April 9 demanding Rajapaksas ousterWith Rajapaksas resignation Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the President Colombo Gazette reportedWickremesinghe who is currently the Acting President has already told the Speaker to call on party leaders to name a new Prime Minister through consensusOn Saturday Rajapaksa had announced to step down on July 13 after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its kneesHe however fled to the Maldives without resigning from his office From the Maldives he went to Singapore on ThursdaySingapores Foreign Ministry has said that President Rajapaksa has been allowed to enter the citystate on a private visit The Foreign Ministry said that Rajapaksa has not asked for asylumRajapaksa was the first person with the army background to be elected as Sri Lankas President in 2019Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe who is now Acting President has already said he was willing to resign and make way for an allparty government to take overUnder 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 daysThe 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 termSri Lanka a country of 22 million people is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil the worst in seven decades leaving millions struggling to buy food medicine fuel and other essentialsIn several major cities including Colombo hundreds are forced to stand in line for hours to buy fuel sometimes clashing with police and the military as they waitThe country with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026 Sri Lankas total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever