Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigns as Sri Lanka President

COLOMBO: Amid pressure from the public uprising in Sri Lanka, the country's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday tendered his resignation to the Speaker of the Parliament.

Sri Lankan Speaker's office said that the Speaker of Parliament has received the resignation letter of Rajapaksa.

Meanwhile, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that Rajapaksa has been allowed entry into Singapore on a private visit and he has not asked for asylum nor has he been granted asylum.

"In response to media queries, it is confirmed that Mr 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. Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," said the Singapore MFA.

Rajapaksa who flew from the Maldives arrived in Singapore on board a Saudia Airlines flight on Thursday evening, media reports said.

The flight touched down at Singapore Changi airport at 7.17 pm (local time). Rajapaksa is however expected to be in Singapore only in transit and is expected to fly into the Middle East later in the day, reported Daily Mirror.

According to earlier reports, Rajapaksa and his wife were expected to stay in Singapore and not travel further to the Middle East. As per various media reports, the Sri Lankan President and his wife, who took Saudia Airlines flight SV788 to Singapore, were expected to travel to Jeddah.

Rajapaksa, 73, had gone into hiding after crowds of protesters stormed his residence on July 9 and he had announced that he will hand over his resignation letter on Wednesday.

Earlier, Rajapaksa along with his wife escaped to the Maldives. Subsequently, the speaker appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the interim President of Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, the curfew has been imposed from 12 pm on July 14 till 5 am on July 15, within the Colombo District, the government information department announced.