Sri Lankan president confirms he will resign, PM's office says

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has confirmed he will step down, the prime minister's office said on Monday, according to local media.

The parliament speaker had earlier said the president would resign on July 13, amid protests in the wake of a worsening economic crisis.

The development came after thousands of protesters stormed the presidential palace in Colombo on Saturday, and also set fire to the prime minister’s home.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also agreed to resign after the formation of an all-party government.

President Rajapaksa was evacuated from the presidential palace, and his current whereabouts are unknown.

Crippled by a shortage of foreign exchange after the collapse of the tourism-dependent economy, the island nation of 22 million has defaulted on all of its foreign debt.

It has been unable to pay for fuel and other essentials, resulting in anti-government protests. A lack of fuel to run power stations has in turn led to daily power cuts. While schools have been shut, state employees have been asked to work from home.

The government is negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package.

Protesters have blamed the Rajapaksa political dynasty for the crisis, and one of Rajapaksa’s brothers, Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned as prime minister in May.