Sri Lanka's former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was stopped from leaving country on Tuesday amid the mounting anger against the powerful family for mishandling the worst economic crisis. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's parliament is set to elect a new president on July 20 as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to resign on Wednesday amid the ongoing political and economic crisis. On Monday, President Rajapaksa officially conveyed to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will resign on July 13.

Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe's office said the entire Sri Lankan cabinet will resign and hand over their responsibilities to a new all-party interim government as soon as it is formed. "All the ministers who participated in the discussion were of the opinion that as soon as there is an agreement to form an all-party government, they are ready to hand over their responsibilities to that government," the PM Office was quoted as saying.

Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy over the weekend. The island nation is now seeking help from neighbouring countries like India and China and also from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to deal with debt and the shortage of cash to pay for imports.

Here are top developments from Sri Lanka:

1. Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in Colombo on Saturday. He later informed Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that he will resign on Wednesday.

What happens if the president resigns prior to the expiration of his term of office? After receiving Rajapaksa's resignation, parliament will convene on July 15 to announce the vacancy and will reconvene on July 19 to accept the nominations for the post. The new president will then be elected on July 20.

Sri Lankan parliament would need to select one of its members as the president within one month's time from the resignation, reports said. If only one member of parliament is nominated for the post, then the Secretary-General would declare that individual as the president. If more than one person is nominated, then a secret ballot will be held and the person would be elected by a majority.

In case, Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns as president, then PM Ranil Wickremesinghe would take over as the acting president until the parliament elects a new president

2. However, PM Wickremesinghe has said he is willing to resign from the post amid the growing clamour over the economic situation of the country. As per the Sri Lankan Constitution, if both the President and Prime Minister resign, the Speaker will then serve as acting president for a maximum of 30 days. The parliament will then 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.

3. Meanwhile, Opposition Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) said it is ready to lead the next government to bring stability to the bankrupt island nation. It added that any resistance to the move in parliament will be seen as a "treacherous act".

4. Thousands of protesters stormed into the presidential palace in Colombo's high-security Fort area. Protesters also torched PM Wickremesinghe's private house in ire. Reacting to the incident, Wickremesinghe said that only people with a "Hitler-like mindset" torch buildings and added that there was a "background event" that led to what transpired that night.

People throng presidential palace in Colombo.

5. Amid the economic turmoil, schools in the country have been suspended. Long queues were also seen at the fuel station as gasoline has also been limited to essential services. Patients are unable to travel to hospitals due to the fuel shortage and food prices are soaring. Trains have reduced in frequency.

#WATCH | Long queue of protestors on the road leading to the Presidential Palace in Colombo amid protests against the economic crisis in #SriLanka pic.twitter.com/zWKLgBTBBH

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2022 6. Refuting rumours about Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka and taking refuge in a "neighbouring country", Abeywardena's office said the president is still in the country.

7. On Tuesday, ex-Sri Lanka minister Basil Rajapaksa was stopped from leaving the country through the VIP terminal at Colombo airport, an immigration officer said. Basil is a younger brother of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is reeling under an economic turmoil which is dubbed the worst in seven decades. The situation has left millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials. The government owes $51 billion and is unable to make interest payments on its loans, let alone put a dent in the amount borrowed. Tourism has also sputtered because of the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about safety after terror attacks in 2019. Its currency also collapsed by 80 percent, making imports more expensive and worsening inflation that is already out of control, with food costs rising 57 percent, according to official data.

(With inputs from agencies)

(Edited by : Akriti Anand)

First Published:Jul 12, 2022 9:23 AM IST