Lagatar24 Desk
Colombo, July 11: Sri Lanka minister of urban development and Housing Prasanna Ranatunga claimed on Monday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will step down on July 13 as previously announced by the Speaker of the Parliament and party leaders will elect a new leader of the country on July 20.
After tens of thousands of protestors stormed the official houses of both men, the prime minister’s office announced that Rajapaksa and the whole cabinet will step down to make room for a unity government.
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.
According to the decision made at the party leaders’ meeting, the following events are anticipated to occur if the president resigns on July 13: Parliament will be convened on July 15, nominations for the post of president will be accepted on July 19 and President will be elected on July 20.
Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have not been seen in public since Friday even though they were not in their homes when the protestors barged into the structures.
Although it was unknown where Rajapaksa was, Wickremesinghe’s media staff claimed in a statement that he had a meeting with cabinet members on Monday morning in the prime minister’s office.
