On Monday, the Sri Lankan Parliament announced that it would hold a vote on July 20 in order to elect a successor to outgoing President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who committed to resigning his office by Wednesday.

Rajapaksa’s resignation, and the government’s decision to appoint a successor, came in the aftermath of mass protests over the weekend, which resulted in Sri Lankan demonstrators storming his official residence. In the days since, Rajapaksa has not been seen in public and is thought to have gone into hiding, although he has maintained a connection with the country’s executive branch.

If Rajapaksa’s resignation is submitted and accepted, the 225-seat parliament will be given roughly a week to submit nominations for his successor. On July 19, the window for nominations will close; the following day, the available choices will be voted on. This process was drafted during a meeting of Sri Lanka’s remaining political leaders, led by Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

“During the party leaders’ meeting held today, it was agreed that this was essential to ensur[ing] a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the constitution,” Abeywardena wrote on Sunday. “The ruling party has said the prime minister and the cabinet are ready to resign to appoint an all-party government,” he continued.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who shot to fame after defeating Sri Lanka’s northern Tamil Tiger rebellion as a military commander, was elected president in 2019. As part of his campaign, Rajapaksa vowed to significantly decrease taxes, helping him to easily win the election but plunging Sri Lanka into a dire financial crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the island country’s tourism sector. 

As the country struggled to repay its international debts, its foreign reserves dwindled, which restricted its ability to import badly-needed staples—including food, fuel, and medicine—and led to protests. The protest movement had earlier forced Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country’s prime minister, and Gotabaya’s younger brother, from office. But Gotabaya had committed to remaining in control until the next election prior to the storming of his house.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who succeeded the younger Rajapaksa as prime minister and oversaw slight improvements to the country’s financial situation, also agreed to step down after protesters lit his home on fire.

Despite these pledges, neither man has yet resigned, prompting protesters to announce an island-wide strike if they remained in their offices on Thursday. Protesters present in the presidential and prime ministerial residences in Colombo, the country’s capital, also vowed to remain in the buildings until the resignations were finalized.

Trevor Filseth is a current and foreign affairs writer for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters