President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has officially resigned from his post, Speaker of the Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced today. 

Addressing the media, the Speaker said that he has received the President’s official resignation letter dated 14th July 2022. 

The Speaker further said that as per the constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will function as the acting President until the appointment of a new President. 

He said that he intends to convene Parliament on Saturday, the 16th of July 2022 to commence the Parliamentary process for the appointment of a new President. 

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena further said that he also intends to complete the Parliament process pertaining to the electing of a new President within the course of the next 7 days.

“My intention is to conduct the necessary Parliamentary affairs to elect a new President as per the provisions of the Constitution as soon as possible. I request all party leaders to extend their support for this purpose,” he said.

The Speaker also requested all political parties and the Parliament to uphold democracy during this period. (NewsWire)