President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday aboard an air force jet and had repeatedly assured the speaker of parliament that he would step down by Wednesday night, but his resignation letter had not arrived by Thursday.
near the parliament building and the prime minister's office.
Crowds of people, undeterred by multiple rounds of tear gas, scaled the walls to enter the office of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as those outside cheered in support and tossed water bottles to them. The protesters blame Mr Rajapaksa and his powerful, dynastic family for leading the country into economic chaos, but they are also angry with Mr Wickremesinghe, who they say is protecting the president.
Earlier this week, the opposition said it was trying to form a unity government to take over but Mr Wickremesinghe has said he will not leave until a new government is in place.If Mr Rajapaksa resigns as planned, Sri Lankan MPs have agreed to elect a new president on 20 July to serve the remainder of Mr Rajapaksa's term, which ends in 2024.
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