Sun | Jul 5, 2026

Sri Lanka in political vacuum as talks go on amid crisis

Published:Monday | July 11, 2022 | 10:20 AM
People queue up to visit President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office for the second day after it was stormed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, July 11, 2022. Sri Lanka is in a political vacuum for a second day Monday with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, whose residences are occupied by protesters, angry over the country's economic woes. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka was in a political vacuum for a second day Monday with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, whose residences are occupied by protesters angry over the country's deep economic woes.

Protesters remained in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's residence, his seaside office and the prime minister's official home, which they stormed on Saturday demanding the two leaders step down.

It marked the most dramatic day of protests during three months of a relentless crisis that has pushed many to the brink of despair amid acute shortages of fuel, food, medicine and other necessities.

The protesters, who come from all walks of life, vowed to stay put until the resignations of the leaders are official.

Rajapaksa has said he will step down on Wednesday, according to the parliamentary speaker.

In a video statement Monday, the first since Saturday's protests, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reiterated that he will stay on until a new government is in place because he wants to work within the constitution.

“A government has to function according to the law. I am here to protect the constitution and through it fulfil the people's demands. What we need today is an all-party government and we will take steps to establish that,” Wickremesinghe said.

He also explained the sequence of events that led to the burning of his private residence on Saturday. He said that angry protesters gathered around his house after a lawmaker, in what Wickremesinghe said was an inaccurate tweet, said that he had refused to resign at a meeting of parliamentary party leaders.

“Police baton-charged and fired tear gas. The last option was to shoot. We did not shoot but they came and burnt the house,” he said.

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