Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday sent his resignation letter through an email to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenaon whose office is checking the legality of the document before making a formal announcement on Friday, an official said.
Speaker's media secretary Indunil Abeywardena said a resignation letter from President Rajapaksa has been received through the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore.
"The Speaker wishes to inform that an official statement on this would be made tomorrow (Friday) after the verification process and legal formalities," Abeywardena said in a brief statement.
The Speaker wants to see the original signature.
The original will be brought to Colombo from Singapore in the next available flight by a diplomatic officer, sources said.
In an unusual move, Maldivian Majlis (Parliament) Speaker Mohamed Nasheed earlier announced that Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa has resigned.
"Sri Lankan President GR has resigned. I hope Sri Lanka can now move forward. I believe the President would not have resigned if he were still in Sri Lanka, and fearful of losing his life. I commend the thoughtful actions of the Govt of Maldives. My best wishes to the people of Sri Lanka," Nasheed, the former president who had negotiated Rajapaksa's escape to the Maldives, said in a tweet.
The development comes on a day when anti-government protesters announced to vacate some of the administrative buildings, including the President's House and the PM Office, they have been occupying since April 9 demanding Rajapaksa's ouster.
With Rajapaksa's resignation Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be the President, Colombo Gazette reported.
Wickremesinghe, who is currently the Acting President, has already told the Speaker to call on party leaders to name a new Prime Minister through consensus.
On Saturday, Rajapaksa had announced to step down on July 13 after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence, blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
He, however, fled to the Maldives without resigning from his office.
From the Maldives, he went to Singapore on Thursday.
Singapore's Foreign Ministry has said that President Rajapaksa has been allowed to enter the city-state on a private visit.
The Foreign Ministry said that Rajapaksa has not asked for asylum.
Rajapaksa was the first person with the army background to be elected as Sri Lanka's President in 2019.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is now Acting President, has already said he was willing to resign and make way for an all-party government to take over.
Under the Sri Lankan Constitution, if both the president and prime minister resign, the Speaker of parliament will serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days.
The Parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.
In several major cities, including Colombo, hundreds are forced to stand in line for hours to buy fuel, sometimes clashing with police and the military as they wait.
The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026.
Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.
The Parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.
In several major cities, including Colombo, hundreds are forced to stand in line for hours to buy fuel, sometimes clashing with police and the military as they wait.
The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026.
Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.
"Sri Lankan President GR has resigned. I hope Sri Lanka can now move forward. I believe the President would not have resigned if he were still in Sri Lanka, and fearful of losing his life. I commend the thoughtful actions of the Govt of Maldives. My best wishes to the people of Sri Lanka," he said.
Nasheed, the former president, had negotiated Rajapaksa's escape to the Maldives, sources here said.
On Saturday, Rajapaksa had announced to step down on July 13 after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence, blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
He, however, fled to the Maldives on Wednesday without resigning from his office.
From Maldives, he went to Singapore on Thursday.
Rajapaksa, who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, fled to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new government.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe last week said Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt country.
The Saudia airline plane carrying them landed at Singapore's Changi Airport at 7:17 pm (1117 GMT), according to AFP journalists on site.
Reporters had descended on Changi after news emerged that the president was heading to the city-state, but by late Thursday he had not been spotted leaving.
Now, the Sri Lanka Parliament will not convene on Friday as Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena is yet to receive Rajapaksa's resignation letter, the Speaker's Office said on Thursday.
The next date for the meeting will be announced within the next three days if President Rajapaksa's resignation letter is received by the Speaker today, the Speaker's Office said.
On Monday, Abeywardena had announced that Parliament will elect the new Sri Lankan President on July 20 following Rajapaksa's resignation on July 13.
But Rajapaksa, 73, appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the acting President hours after he fled the country without resigning as previously announced.
Abeywardena, who on Thursday, informed Rajapaksa that he should submit his letter of resignation as soon as possible or else he will consider other options to remove him from the office.
Singapore on Thursday said it has allowed Rajapaksa to enter the city-state on a "private visit" from the Maldives and there was no request for asylum from him, after he fled the country in the face of public revolt against his government's mishandling of the economy.
Acting President Wickremesinghe on Wednesday urged the Speaker to appoint a consensus Prime Minister that had the backing of all the parties.
The principal opposition party and the group of parliamentarians who broke away from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party said Sajith Premadasa is their Presidential nominee.
Political parties have asked the Speaker to explore ways to remove Rajapaksa from office if he continues to delay submitting his resignation.
Singapore's foreign ministry confirmed Rajapaksa had been allowed to enter the city-state but insisted it was for a "private visit". "He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum. Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," it said in a statement.
A handful of Sri Lankans were waiting in one of the airport's arrival areas to voice their anger at Rajapaksa and the economic crisis engulfing their homeland.
"I want to scold him with all the words that I know," said a Sri Lankan design engineer working in Singapore, who identified himself only as Max.
"He's responsible for everything that happened in our country," he told AFP. The city-state is home to a sizeable Sri Lankan diaspora.
But authorities were quick to warn against protests -- it is illegal for even one person to stage a demonstration in tightly-controlled Singapore without prior official permission.
In a statement issued after Rajapaksa's arrival, police urged people to "abide by our local laws. Action will be taken against anyone participating in a public assembly that is illegal".
Rajapaksa, 73, fled Sri Lanka after protesters demonstrating against the country's worst-ever economic crisis overran his palace on the weekend.
He is expected to look to stay in the city-state for some time, according to Sri Lankan security sources, before potentially moving to the United Arab Emirates.
Rajapaksa was allowed to enter Singapore on Thursday on a "private visit", a day after he fled the country to the Maldives without resigning as promised in the face of public revolt against his government's mishandling of the economy.
A Saudi airlines flight - SV 788 - carrying Rajapaksa landed at the Singapore Changi International Airport shortly after 7 pm (local time).
A spokesperson for Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Rajapaksa has been "allowed entry into Singapore on a private visit".
He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum, the spokesperson said, adding Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum.
Rajapaksa, the 73-year-old leader who had promised to resign on Wednesday instead appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Acting President hours after he fled to the Maldives, escalating the political crisis and triggering a fresh wave of protests in the island nation.
On Saturday, Rajapaksa had announced that he will step down on Wednesday after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence, blaming him for the unprecedented economic crisis that has brought the country to its knees.
Rajapaksa, who enjoys immunity from prosecution while he is president, fled the country without resigning to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new government.
Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena Thursday informed Rajapaksa that he should submit his resignation letter as soon as possible or else he will consider other options to remove him from the office.
Some media outlets reported that the Speaker's office has received the resignation letter from Rajapaksa.
However, there was no official confirmation as yet.
The Speaker said that since an acting President has been appointed, his office is exploring the legal provisions to consider the option of "have vacated his post" if the President does not tender in his letter of resignation.
A spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Parliament said that given that the President had not yet tendered his letter of resignation, it is uncertain if Parliament would be convened on Friday.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, who is now Acting President, on Wednesday informed the Speaker to nominate a Prime Minister who is acceptable to both the Government and Opposition.
President Rajapaka's brothers - former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and ex-finance minister Basil Rajapaksa - on Thursday gave an undertaking to the Supreme Court through their lawyers that they will not leave the country until the Fundamental Rights petition filed against them is heard on Friday, the Daily Mirror reported.
A five-judge bench of Lankan Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice Buwaneka Aluwihare, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena, Justice Vijith Malalgoda, and Justice LTB Dehideniya are scheduled to hear on Friday the petition against the two members of the erstwhile powerful Rajapaksa family.
Mahinda, the patriarch of the Rajapaksa clan, resigned from the post of prime minister on May 9, hours after his supporters attacked anti-government protesters outside President Rajapaksa's office.
The 76-year-old former strongman was barred by a Sri Lankan court from travelling abroad in May in view of investigations against them for the deadly attack on anti-government protesters in Colombo.
Basil, a US passport holder, resigned as finance minister in early April as street protests intensified against shortages of fuel, food and other necessities and quit his seat in parliament in June.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Army in a statement urged the protesters to desist from violence immediately or be prepared to face the "consequences", warning that the security forces are "legitimately empowered" to exercise force.
At least 84 people were hospitalised when protesters clashed with the security forces at the PM office and at the main access junction to Parliament on Wednesday after President Rajapaksa fled the country.
The police fired tear gas and water cannons at the mob who were trying to break barriers and enter the restricted zone.
Authorities on Wednesday imposed a curfew in the Western Province following the eruption of violence.
The curfew was lifted in the morning.
But it had to be reimposed amid fears of violence as there was no word from Rajapaksa on his resignation.
The Army said that despite its repeated appeals the "unruly protesting mobs" on Wednesday tried to forcibly enter the Parliament complex aggressively went on harassing and attacking the troops on duty using clubs, iron rods, stones, helmets, etc and snatched TWO T-56 weapons with ammunition rounds and caused injuries to a dozen of Army personnel.
It said the army troops used minimum force and brought the situation under control.
Wednesday's protests were more directed at Wickremesinghe.
Calls for his resignation intensified after he was appointed the acting president.
Political party leaders are asking him to step down so that Speaker Abeywardena can take control as acting president.
The demonstrators on Thursday decided to vacate some of the administrative buildings, including the President's House and the PM Office, they have been occupying since April 9 demanding President Rajapaksa's resignation.
"We are peacefully withdrawing from all buildings except the old parliament (president's office) and Galle Face (the continuous protest site). We will continue to remain in these places, we will continue to protest until we reach our goals," a spokesperson for the group told reporters.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.
(With inputs from agencies)