Protesters have taken to the the streets in Sri Lanka to celebrate the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 9News
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has tendered his resignation in a letter sent by email to parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenena, according to an announcement from the speaker's office.
Rajapaksa pledged to quit over the weekend after angry demonstrators broke into his official residence, swam in his pool and demanded the end of his family's ruling dynasty. He left the Maldivian capital Malé on board a "Saudi flight", a high-ranking security source in Colombo told CNN. Shortly after Rajapaksa left the country, protesters stormed acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe's office to demand his removal. Wickremesinghe responded by calling a nationwide curfew overnight.
Sri Lanka's parliament would not reconvene until Rajapaksa formally submits his resignation letter, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said on Thursday. A lawyer representing the People's Protest Movement said all occupied buildings, except the Presidential Secretariat, would be handed back to authorities.
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