Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was installed as Sri Lanka's interim president on Friday until Parliament selected a new president to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who stepped down after being ousted from power by widespread protests over the nation's economic collapse.
Rajapaksa's resignation as president took effect on Thursday, according to the speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament. Legislators will meet on Saturday to elect a new president. The remaining term of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which ends in 2024, would be filled by their choice, according to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. He anticipates finishing the procedure in seven days, as reported by AP News.
A new prime minister might be chosen by that person, who would then need the consent of Parliament. With Rajapaksa gone, Wickremesinghe was under increasing pressure.
Rajapaksa moved on Thursday to Singapore on a flight from Maldives after leaving his country after chaotic protests. He tendered his resignation via e-mail, which was received by Abeywardenena's office, as per a CNN report.
New Presidential Powers To Be Limited
In a televised announcement, Wickremesinghe promised to take action to amend the constitution soon to limit the presidential authority and enhance Parliament. He added that he would reinstate law and order and prosecute "insurgents."
According to an Al Jazeera report, the 225-seat parliament will nominate candidates, who must submit their names to be considered in the election.
Per a resolution created at a gathering of party leaders chaired by parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, a vote would be conducted the following day.
In a statement on Monday, Abeywardena said during the party leaders' meeting "it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the constitution. The ruling party has said the prime minister and the cabinet are ready to resign to appoint an all-party government."
To the distress of its 22 million citizens, Sri Lanka has run out of money to pay for imports of essential needs, including food, fertilizer, medication, and fuel.
Sri Lankans Also Suffer From Health Crisis
According to the World Food Programme, three out of every 10 households, or more than six million Sri Lankans do not know where to get their next meal. The country is also currently dealing with a significant dengue fever outbreak following several waves of COVID-19.
This year, Sri Lanka has seen more confirmed cases of dengue than the entire previous year, with close to 41,000 cases.
Because of the fuel supply shortage, patients and health professionals cannot go to hospitals. Medicines are also running out, according to Neelika Malavige, an immunologist at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Colombo.
"Due to the foreign-reserve crisis, we cannot buy reagents for some of our dengue experiments, so we are freezing many samples for when we can get the reagents. But in March, we had power cuts lasting for up to 13 hours, so we lost samples stored in some of our freezers," she told Nature.
Additionally, the expert said that food supply is a problem, which is partially attributable to the government's decision to impose a statewide ban on artificial fertilizers in May 2021. The measure significantly reduced agricultural output and increased the price of staple commodities like rice and vegetables.
The nation is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund and other creditors, but its finances are so poor that even obtaining a bailout has proven difficult, Wickremesinghe recently said.
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