Colombo, Sri Lanka — President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to resign in the coming days, the speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament said on a stormy Saturday that also saw the prime minister say he would step down and the storming of the two leaders’ residences by angry protesters over the severe economic crisis in the country.
Speaker Mahinda Yappa Abeywardena said in a televised statement that he had informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders had met and decided to ask him to step down and the president had agreed. However, Rajapaksa will stay on until Wednesday to ensure a smooth transition of power, Abeywardena added.
“He asked me to inform the country that he will be resigning on Wednesday the 13th as there is a need for a peaceful handover of power,” Abeywardena said.
A man throws a teargas canister after being fired by police to disperse protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lankan protesters demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stormed his official residence on Saturday. Amita Tenakoon / AP
“There is therefore no need for further unrest in the country and I call on all for the sake of the country to maintain peace to allow for a smooth transition,” the spokesman continued.
Opposition lawmaker Rauf Hakim said a consensus had been reached for the parliament speaker to take over as interim president and work on an interim government.
The announcement of the president’s resignation came hours after protesters stormed his fortified residence in Colombo. Video images showed jubilant crowds bathing in the garden pool. Some people lay on beds at the home, while others made tea and issued statements from a conference room demanding the resignation of both Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
It was unclear whether Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president’s movements.
The protesters also broke into the prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire, Wickremesinghe’s office said. It was not clear if he was there when the break-in happened.
Hours earlier, Wickremesinghe announced his own impending resignation amid calls for him to step down. But he said he would not step down until a new government was formed, angering protesters who demanded his immediate departure.
A man picks up a canister of tear gas to throw it away after police fired it to disperse protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, July 9, 2022. Sri Lanka’s prime minister agreed to resign on Saturday, after party leaders in parliament demanded as well as the embattled president stepped down on a day when protesters stormed the president’s residence and office in a rage over the worsening economic crisis. Amita Tenakoon / AP
“Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, food shortages, the head of the World Food Program is coming here and we have several issues to discuss with the IMF,” Wickremesinghe said. “Therefore, if this government leaves, there must be another government.”
Wickremesinghe said he had suggested the president have an all-party government, but said nothing about Rajapaksa’s whereabouts. The opposition parties in the parliament discussed the formation of a new government.
Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May, hoping the career politician would use his diplomacy and contacts to revive the failing economy. But people’s patience ran out as shortages of fuel, medicine and cooking gas only increased and oil supplies dried up.
The country is relying on aid from India and other nations as leaders try to negotiate a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.
Months of demonstrations have nearly toppled the Rajapaksa political dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades but is blamed by protesters for plunging the country into chaos through mismanagement and alleged corruption. The president’s older brother resigned as prime minister in May after violent protests forced him to seek safety at a naval base.
Thousands of protesters poured into the capital from the suburbs on Saturday after police lifted an overnight curfew denounced as illegal by lawyers and opposition politicians. Due to scarce fuel supplies, many crammed into buses and trains, while others traveled by bicycle and on foot.
At the president’s waterfront office, security officers tried in vain to stop the protesters, who climbed over the fences to escape across the lawns and inside the colonial-era building.
At least 34 people, including two policemen, were injured in the clashes. Two of the injured were in critical condition, while others suffered minor injuries, according to an official at the Colombo National Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Private Sirasa Television said at least six of its staff, including four reporters, were hospitalized after being beaten by police while covering the protest at the prime minister’s home.
The Medical Council of Sri Lanka, the country’s highest professional body, has warned that hospitals are operating with minimal resources and will not be able to cope with mass casualties from the riots.
Protest and religious leaders said Rajapaksa had lost his mandate and it was time for him to go.
“His claim that he was voted by the Sinhalese Buddhists is now invalid,” said Ven. Omalpe Sobita, a prominent Buddhist leader. He called on parliament to convene immediately to elect an interim president.
Wickremesinghe said last month that the country’s economy had collapsed and that negotiations with the IMF were complicated because Sri Lanka was now a bankrupt state.
Sri Lanka announced in April that it was suspending foreign loan payments due to a currency shortage. Its total foreign debt stands at $51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027.
US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Friday urged people to protest peacefully and called on the military and police to “give peaceful protesters the space and security to do so”.
“Chaos and force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lanka needs right now,” Chung tweeted.
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