Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lankan Prime Minister amid violent protest over economic crisis

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned from his post on Monday (May 9, 2022)

Amid the worst economic crisis the country has seen since independence, Mahinda Rajapaksa has tendered his resignation as Sri Lankan Prime Minister today, according to local media.

The resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa is likely to pave the way for a new cabinet in the crisis marred country. The resignation comes days after President Gotbaya Rajapaksa in a special meeting on Friday requested the Prime Minister to step down as a solution to the ongoing political crisis in the country, Sri Lanka`s Daily Mirror reported.

Now following Mahinda Rajapaksa’s resignation, the President is expected to invite all the political parties in Parliament to form an all-party Cabinet, reported Colombo Gazette.

Earlier, the opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) confirmed that its leader Sajith Premadasa will not accept the PM`s post in an interim government.

On Monday morning protesters held a demonstration opposite the Temple Trees, the official residence of the prime minister, urging Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa not to resign.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan authorities on Monday imposed a nationwide curfew and Army troops were deployed in the capital after pro-government groups attacked protesters outside embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office, leaving at least 78 people injured.