- Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will resign.
- Tens of thousands of protesters stormed the official residences of both men on Saturday
- The speaker of parliament said Rajapakse would quit on Wednesday but there was no word from him directly.
After tens of thousands of demonstrators surrounded both men’s official houses on Monday; the prime minister’s office said that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa; had notified Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he would be stepping down.
Rajapaksa announced his resignation on Wednesday, according to the speaker of parliament; following Saturday’s massive rallies and a crippling economic crisis. However, Rajapaksa has not publicly stated his intentions.
Wickremesinghe has said that he too will stand down; to make way for an all-party temporary administration.
Crowds will continue to occupy the president’s and prime minister’s Colombo mansions; according to protest movement leaders, until they resigned from their positions.
On Monday, hundreds of visitors wandered into the president’s secretariat and mansion in Colombo; Sri Lanka’s capital city, and took tours of the colonial-era structures. No one was attempted to be stopped by police.
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Jude Hansana, 31, who has remained at a protest location outside the home; since early April, declared, “We are not going anywhere until this president quits; and we get a government that is acceptable to the people.
“People are fighting for more comprehensive political reforms, not just for the president to go. This is only the beginning.”
Dushantha Gunasinghe, a different demonstrator, claimed he had travelled to Colombo; from a place 130 kilometres (80 miles) distant; walking part of the way due to the gasoline shortage. On Monday morning, he claimed to have arrived at last.
The 28-year-old was sitting outside the president’s office on a plastic chair; when he stated, “I’m so fatigued I can barely talk.” “I travelled all by myself because I am convinced that this must be completed. We need new leaders, and this administration needs to leave office.”
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