COLOMBO, SRI LANKA (AP) – Sri Lanka’s prime minister was sworn in as its interim president yesterday until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country’s economic collapse forced him from office.
A tenuous calm was restored after protesters who had occupied government buildings retreated on Thursday, but with the political opposition deeply fractured, a solution to Sri Lanka’s many woes seemed no closer.
As people celebrated in the streets, Parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana promised a swift political process that should be done within a week.
Ranil Wickremesinghe could appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by Parliament.
Wickremesinghe said he would initiate steps to change the constitution to curb presidential powers and strengthen Parliament, restore law and order and take legal action against “insurgents”.
