Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the eighth president of Sri Lanka, has tendered his resignation.
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, confirmed that he has received the President’s resignation letter.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was compelled to resign as President of Sri Lanka as a result of multiple protests by the country’s citizens demanding his resignation due to the economic crisis.
In a number of countries, the populace initiated demonstrations in response to the hardships caused by the scarcity of several essential goods, including gasoline, fuel, and medicines.
The public pressured former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to resign after SLPP supporters attacked peaceful protesters at the Galle Face Green in Colombo on 9 May.
In an effort to salvage the situation, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, despite calls from the public and all political parties for his resignation as well.
The President’s official residence and office in Colombo were stormed by protesters on July 9 in response to repeated calls for his resignation that went unheeded.
Subsequently, Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that he would resign on 13 July, but fled to the Maldives early the next morning (13).
The public then staged a second mass demonstration demanding that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resign alongside Gotabaya Rajapaksa and stormed the office of the prime minister in Colombo.
After escaping to the Maldives, it was reported that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign after his safe arrival in Singapore.
Instead of resigning, he appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting President to fulfill his responsibilities.
Later, Maldivian media reported that Rajapaksa refused to board a passenger flight to Singapore due to security concerns and demanded a private aircraft; he then departed for Singapore on a Wednesday Saudi Airlines flight (14).
After competing in the 2019 Presidential election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President of Sri Lanka with a majority of the votes.
He is the first person with a military background to be elected president of Sri Lanka, as well as the first person who had never held an elected office before being elected president.
Prior to being elected President, he served as Defence Secretary in 2005 under the presidency of his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, during which the Sri Lankan Armed Forces defeated the Tamil Tigers and assassinated their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Through the 20th Amendment, Gotabaya Rajapaksa expanded the executive’s authority during his presidency.
During his presidency, economic mismanagement caused Sri Lanka’s economy to fail, resulting in the nation’s first default since gaining independence in 1948.
