Sri Lanka is in a political vacuum for a second day, with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, blamed for the country's significant economic woes.
Several questions remain, including the whereabouts of the president, and who will take overPeople queue up to enter President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office on Monday after it was stormed in Colombo, the capital. Sri Lanka is in a political vacuum for a second day, with opposition leaders yet to agree on who should replace its roundly rejected leaders, blamed for the country's significant economic woes.
"A government has to function according to the law. I am here to protect the constitution and through it fulfil the people's demands. What we need today is an all-party government and we will take steps to establish that," Wickremesinghe said.He also explained the sequence of events that led to the burning of his private residence on Saturday.
Opposition party leaders have been in talks to form an alternative unity government, an urgent requirement of a bankrupt nation to continue discussions with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout program. "We can't be in an anarchical condition. We have to somehow reach a consensus today," Gammanpila said.Opposition parties are also concerned over military leaders making statements about public security in the absence of a civil administration.
They say Wickremesinghe should promptly resign and allow Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena take over as acting president — the next in line according to the constitution. But Wickremesinghe had been part of crucial talks with the IMF for a bailout program and with the World Food Program to prepare for a predicted food crisis. The government must submit a plan on debt sustainability to the IMF in August before reaching an agreement.
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