Rajapaksa resigns, Wickremesinghe to take oath tomorrow

Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena on October 26 after ousting Ranil Wickremesinghe has resigned from his post.

Daily Mirror Sri Lanka quoted Member of Parliament Shehan Semasinghe as stating that Rajapaksa informed United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MPs that he has resigned as the Prime Minister of the South Asian island nation.

Earlier, Mahinda Rajapaksa's son Namal confirmed on Friday that the former President would step down as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka "to ensure the stability of the nation".

Ousted Prime Minister and United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will take the oath as the Prime Minister on December 16.

UNP MP Ashoka Abeysinghe said that the decision was taken after Sirisena and Wickremesinghe held a discussion on the phone.

The island nation was engulfed in a constitutional turmoil after Sirisena, on October 26, abruptly ousted the then-Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa, the country's former President, as the new premier. Sirisena later dissolved Parliament, almost 20 months before its term was to end, and ordered a snap election.

However, the country's Supreme Court overturned Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and halted the preparations for snap polls.

On December 3, the Sri Lankan court had issued an interim order against Rajapaksa and his cabinet, barring their functioning. The following day, Rajapaksa filed an appeal against the order.