Political parties meet the opposition in Sri LankaOn Sunday, to agree on a new government, the day following the country’s president and prime minister offered to step down, in the most chaotic day in the country during months of political turmoil, following demonstrators stormed the homes of officials and set one on fire in a state of anger over the economic crisis.
Demonstrators remain in the official residence overlooking the coast, for the president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the prime minister’s home and said they would stay until the two leaders formally step down.
The president’s whereregardings are unknown, but his office issued a statement saying that he (the president) had ordered the immediate distribution of the shipment of cooking gas to the public, indicating that he was still operating.
The army deployed its soldiers across the city, and the Chief of Defense Staff, Shavendra Silva, called for public support to maintain public order.
Still, the soldiers watched from afar as citizens rushed to a fountain pool in Rajapaksa’s sprawling house, stretched out on the beds, and took pictures of themselves with their cell phones in memory of the moment.
Those who occupied the official residence of the prime minister cooked in an outdoor kitchen, played carom (a team game played on a board) and slept on sofas.
Ranjith Madhuma Bandara, a senior official of the main opposition party United People’s Force, said his party held separate discussions with other parties and MPs who had defected from Rajapaksa’s ruling coalition, adding that further meetings would be held.
The opposition MP, M. a. Sumanthiran said the opposition parties combined might easily muster the 113 members needed to secure a majority in Parliament, at which point they would ask President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to install the new government and then step down.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he would leave office as soon as a new government was formed, and hours later the parliament speaker said Rajapaksa would step down on Wednesday.
Pressures mounted on the two men as the economic meltdown led to severe shortages of basic necessities, leaving citizens struggling to obtain food, fuel, and other necessities.
In the event that the two men, the president and the prime minister, step down, then House Speaker Mahinda Yaba Abiwardena will take over as interim president, in accordance with the constitution.
Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister last May, in a bid to address deficiencies and start an economic recovery.
Wickremesinghe has been involved in part of crucial conversations with the International Monetary Fund for the rescue program, and with the World Food Program to prepare for an anticipated food crisis.
The government must submit a debt sustainability plan to the International Monetary Fund in August, before a deal is reached.
(Associated Press)
