Sri Lankan: Political Parties Call for Government Resignation

Sri Lankan political party leaders called for the resignation of Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa amid the worst economic crisis in the Southeast Asian country.

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At the same time that hundreds of demonstrators took over the residence of the Head of State and then that of the Prime Minister, the leaders of the political parties agreed this Saturday in an emergency meeting that the President of the Sri Lankan Parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, should assume the Presidency.

MP Harsha de Silva said that most of those present agreed on the need for the immediate resignation of the President and the Prime Minister.

In addition, they agreed that the Speaker of Parliament should assume the presidential office for a maximum of 30 days.

The leaders of various political groupings also called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to step down.

Although he initially rejected such an idea, he soon afterwards expressed his willingness to resign for "the safety of the citizens".

In this regard, Wickremesinghe offered on Saturday his resignation and the formation of a national unity government, in a day of massive demonstrations against President Rajapaksa.

The protests in Sri Lanka have been going on for months. In recent days, they were accompanied by riots and arson. Eight people were killed, more than 200 were injured, 60 vehicles and more than 100 buildings were destroyed by fire.

The Prime Minister's office said in a statement that Wickremesinghe "is ready" to accept the recommendation of the opposition parties, which during a meeting called by the Speaker of Parliament demanded his resignation and that of Rajapaksa for the mismanagement of the economic crisis plaguing Sri Lanka.

The offer to form a government with the presence of all political parties would serve to prevent the country from descending into chaos as it tries to obtain a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as to deal with fuel and food shortages.

"The island-wide distribution of fuel should begin this week, the director of the World Food Program is due to visit the country this week and the debt sustainability report for the International Monetary Fund will be finalized soon," the ministerial office said.

Parliamentarian and Sri-Lanka Muslim Congress Party member Rauff Hakeem, who was present at the meeting, noted on Twitter the "overwhelming call" to demand the resignation of the president and prime minister by the political formations.