Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as SL President, Wickremesinghe to take oath tomorrow

Colombo: Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned from the premiere post of Sri Lankan Prime Minister. He resigned today morning, reported local news agencies. This ended the two-month power struggle in the island country.

Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to be reinstated as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Ironically, Wickremesinghe was ousted by current Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.

President Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, local news reported.

Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) said that the decision to reinstate was decided during the discussion. He is set to take oath as the new Prime Minister at 10 am on Sunday.

Sirisena had repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister. But he is now compelled to do so since Wickremesinghe has the support of 117 lawmakers in Parliament.

The President had removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Mr Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

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