Editor's Pick: Sri Lanka President backsteps on resignation

Even as calls seeking resignations of the top leadership intensified, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives early on Wednesday, appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Acting President. Among his first orders on assuming the top chair were to impose an overnight curfew barring anyone from congregating in public places or using railways between midnight and 5 A.M. The development contradicts the earlier assertions of both the newly appointed leader and Mr Rajapaksa wherein they had offered to submit their resignations. This was meant to facilitate the creation of an all-party government to take over the country’s administration. The task of carving an all-party government however appeared cumbersome. The opposition is fragmented and do not hold a parliamentary majority. As per constitutional stipulations, the formation of a new government cannot be carried forth until the existing dispensation resigns. The newly appointed leader, in a televised address, called for an end to the “fascist threat to democracy”, informing that he had ordered the military and police to do “what is necessary to restore order”. Angry protestors on Wednesday broke into the state broadcaster’s office and briefly took over the broadcasts. On Saturday, they had broken into the official and private residences of the country’s top leadership. Mr Rajapaksa has fled to Male where he is believed to have been received by Maldives’ former President and Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. However, there has been no official statement confirming the occurrence. He is next headed to Singapore. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. 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Among his first orders on assuming the top chair were to impose an overnight curfew barring anyone from congregating in public places or using railways between midnight and 5 A.M. The development contradicts the earlier assertions of both the newly appointed leader and Mr Rajapaksa wherein they had offered to submit their resignations. This was meant to facilitate the creation of an all-party government to take over the country’s administration. The task of carving an all-party government however appeared cumbersome. The opposition is fragmented and do not hold a parliamentary majority. As per constitutional stipulations, the formation of a new government cannot be carried forth until the existing dispensation resigns.  The newly appointed leader, in a televised address, called for an end to the “fascist threat to democracy”, informing that he had ordered the military and police to do “what is necessary to restore order”. Angry protestors on Wednesday broke into the state broadcaster’s office and briefly took over the broadcasts. On Saturday, they had broken into the official and private residences of the country’s top leadership. Mr Rajapaksa has fled to Male where he is believed to have been received by Maldives’ former President and Parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. However, there has been no official statement confirming the occurrence. [He is next headed to Singapore. Â]( Was this newsletter forwarded to you? 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