Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena says a special parliamentary session will be convened tomorrow (July 16) and the attendance of all members is required.

Meanwhile, a new President will be appointed through a constitutional process, pursuant to Article 40 of the Constitution and Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act (No. 2 of 1981).

Officially announcing Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation from the presidency, he said the Prime Minister will act in accordance with the Constitution to exercise and perform the powers, functions and duties of the President until the completion of the said process.

The Speaker appealed to all political party leaders, state officials, security forces and the members of the public to extend their maximum support to complete the process peacefully.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has officially stepped down as the President of Sri Lanka effective from July 14, 2022, giving into the months-long nationwide public protests against the government’s mishandling of the economy.

Read the Speaker’s full statement below:

I have received the letter of resignation sent by His Excellency the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in terms of Article 38.1 (b) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the President has officially resigned from his position on July 14th, 2022.

Accordingly, the constitutional process of electing a new president will be executed henceforth.

The Prime Minister will act in accordance with the Constitution to exercise and perform the powers, functions and duties of the President until the completion of the said process.

The election of the new President will be carried out in accordance with the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act, No. 2 of 1981 in accordance with Article 40 of the Constitution, as I have informed all the party leaders at the party leaders’ meeting.

It is my intention to successfully complete this process as soon as possible. 

As our nation, is known for its pride of being the oldest democratic country in South Asia, the execution of this process within a maximum democratic framework and transparency will be an important historical event not only in our country but also in the political history of the world.

I therefore request all party leaders, government officials and security personnel to extend their maximum support towards this process of democratic action.

In particular, we request the respected and beloved public of our country to create a suitable and peaceful atmosphere for all the members representing the parliament to freely act according to their conscience and participate in the meetings in order to implement the proper democratic parliamentary system.

I hope to complete this process within a short period of seven days with the cooperation of all the responsible parties in a peaceful atmosphere.

Therefore, I am hereby informing that the Parliament will convene on the 16th, Saturday of this month (2022.07.16) requesting the attendance of all members.

I extend my sincere Thanks for all of your support.