Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned from his position as president of Sri Lanka on Friday, appears to be in for more difficulty as Singapore is reportedly not keen on allowing him to stay for very long.
Rajapaksa, 73, flew out of the nation on a military jet on Wednesday with his wife and two security guards before continuing on to Singapore through the Maldives.
Rajapaksa has been given permission to stay in Singapore for a period of 15 days, and sources say that this permit is unlikely to be extended.
They stated that Rajapaksa is unsure of his strategy after the next 15 days. He has also contacted India, but India has turned him down, sources told CNN-News 18. According to sources, India doesn’t want to appear to be siding with the Sri Lankan people.
After tens of thousands of protesters surrounded his official residence and accused him of causing the country’s crippling economic situation, Rajapaksa declared last Saturday that he will leave office on July 13. But he left his position without resigning and went to the Maldives.
He traveled to Singapore on Thursday from the Maldives.
Rajapaksa has been “granted admission into Singapore on a private visit,” according to a spokeswoman for the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs “.
He “has neither requested asylum, nor has any been granted to him.” “The spokeswoman added on Thursday that Singapore does not accept asylum claims.
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the speaker of parliament, officially announced Rajapaksa’s resignation on Friday, two days after the embattled leader left the nation in the face of widespread protests against his administration for mismanaging the economy and driving the nation into bankruptcy.
On Thursday, the leader resigned via email to the Speaker not long after Singapore granted him permission to travel there for a “private visit.” “. After checking the legitimacy of the resignation letter that was forwarded to him, Speaker Abeywardena officially announced President Rajapaksa’s resignation on Friday morning.
“I have received President Rajapaksa’s letter of resignation. As a result, the president announced his resignation on July 14 “said he.
The Speaker of the House announced in a press release that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will serve as interim president until the house has finished its process of electing a new president.
He pleaded with the populace to support a calm setting for all MPs to participate in the procedure, which should be finished in seven days.
On Saturday, the Sri Lankan Parliament will convene. According to the Sri Lankan Constitution, the Speaker of Parliament will act as President for a maximum of 30 days if both the President and Prime Minister resign.
Within 30 days, the Parliament will choose a new president from among its members. That person will serve as president for the final two years of the present term.
A day after anti-government protestors who had been occupying government facilities since April 9 and calling for Rajapaksa’s removal left some of them, including the President’s House and the PM Office, the resignation of Rajapaksa was officially announced.
The 22 million-strong nation of Sri Lanka is experiencing the worst economic crisis in seven decades, leaving millions of people unable to afford basic necessities like food, medicine, and fuel.
