Sri Lankan president says to resign as previously announced

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will continue with his resignation on July 13 as previously announced, the Prime Minister’s Office said Monday.

Rajapaksa had informed the speaker of parliament on Saturday that he would step down from the presidency on Wednesday amid a severe economic crisis.

A senior government official told Xinhua that Wickremesinghe will call for an urgent meeting with his cabinet of ministers on Monday and will later meet all political party leaders to discuss the way forward.

Wickremesinghe has also agreed to resign after party leaders urged both him and the president to resign, as protesters stormed the president’s residence and office on Saturday.

-Xinhua