Sri Lankan Crisis: Sri Lanka’s main opposition parties are expected to hold a special meeting on Sunday to reach a consensus on forming an all-party government, with Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe saying he will resign once an all-party government is formed.
Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress leader Rauf Hakim, Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan and All Ceylon Makkal Congress leaders will attend the meeting of main opposition Samagi Jana Balvegaya (SJB). News first portal Rishad Bathiuddin told.
nine parties to meet
Another meeting of leaders of nine parties, including the National Freedom Front, was planned on Sunday to discuss the emerging political situation. Veerasumana Veerasinghe, vice-president of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, said that there will be a long discussion about the all-party government.
President to be Acting President
In the absence of both the President and the Prime Minister, the Speaker will become the Acting President. Afterwards, an election must be held among the MPs to elect a new President. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe has also offered to resign.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, whose private home was hit by an extensive arson attack last night, remains in position despite calls to step down.
In a statement on Saturday night, Wickremesinghe, who expressed his willingness to resign, said, “This country is grappling with shortage of fuel and food. Next week will be an important visit scheduled by the WFP while important talks with the IMF continue. So if the present government is to be left, it must be replaced by the next one.”
President Mahinda Yapa Abhayawardene called on President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe to resign immediately to pave the way for an all-party government, following the biggest protests amid the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.
In May, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s elder brother and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had to step down due to massive anti-government protests.
The Rajapaksa brothers, Mahinda and Gotabaya, were hailed by many in Sri Lanka as heroes for winning the civil war against the LTTE, but are now blamed for the country’s worst economic crisis.
The possible departure of President Rajapaksa on Wednesday and the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister in May are a dramatic fall from grace for a powerful family that has dominated Sri Lankan politics for more than a decade.
22 crore in the grip of unprecedented crisis
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is in the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, crippled by an acute shortage of foreign exchange that has left it unable to pay for essential imports of fuel and other essential commodities. gave up fighting. ,
The country, with an acute foreign exchange crisis that resulted in foreign debt defaults, announced in April that it would suspend foreign debt repayments of about USD 7 billion for the year, out of about USD 25 billion by 2026. Used to be. Sri Lanka’s total external debt is USD 51 billion.
(with inputs from PTI)
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