Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as interim president before the chief justice on Friday, following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
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Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka's Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena indicated that he had received the resignation letter of the president, adding that he was discharged from his legal duties.
"Under these circumstances, the constitutional procedure of appointing a new president will now be activated. Until this constitutional procedure is over, according to the constitution the prime minister will function in the capacity of the president overseeing functions, duties, and powers of the office of the president," the speaker told a media briefing.
Moreover, the speaker pointed out that parliament will convene on July 16 and he requested all legislators to attend parliamentary sessions on that day.
Rajapaksa emailed a letter of resignation to the speaker of the country’s parliament late on Thursday shortly after he arrived in Singapore. A source familiar with the matter stated that they are not sure if the letter would be accepted in an email form.
Media outlets reported that he was on his way to Singapore before possibly continuing on to Saudi Arabia.
“The authenticity and the legality of the e-mail will have to be checked out” before being formally accepted, parliament speaker spokesperson Indunil Yapa told the AFP news agency, adding that a formal announcement was expected on Friday.
Over the weekend, thousands of demonstrators in Sri Lanka stormed the presidential residence in one of the largest anti-government marches in the crisis-hit country this year.
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