Speaker Says President Rajapaksa Has Not Left Sri Lanka, Parliament To Elect New Premier Next Week | Key Points

Rajapaksa, 73, has yet to publicly retire, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Source : Getty Images

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains in the nation, according to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena's office, refuting media rumours that the beleaguered leader, whose whereabouts are unknown, may have departed the country, news agency PTI reported.

Rajapaksa, 73, has yet to publicly retire, and his whereabouts are unknown.

However, the presidential secretariat has continued to issue the President's statement even after he abandoned the official home on Saturday when hundreds of demonstrators attacked it.

Sri Lanka Crisis: Key Updates

1. According to Abeywardena's office, he had not departed the country as had been suggested in the media. "This was (speculated) after a mistake made by Speaker of Parliament Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena who had said he had left the country but would be back by Wednesday to offer his resignation. Abeywardena later corrected the mistake," his office was quoted by PTI in its report. 
2. On Saturday, Rajapaksa told the Speaker that he will quit on July 13.
3. According to the Speaker's office, the Parliament has taken all necessary measures to elect a successor in accordance with the protocol.
4. According to reports, Rajapaksa is said to be spending time at a Sri Lanka Naval station.
5. Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is experiencing unparalleled economic crisis, the worst in seven decades, with millions unable to purchase food, medication, gasoline, and other necessities.
6. Tens of thousands of people have gone to the streets in recent months to demand that the country's leaders quit over allegations of economic mismanagement. They attribute the situation to the Rajapaksa family.
7. Schools have been closed, and gasoline has been restricted to critical services only. Patients are unable to drive to hospitals owing to a lack of fuel, and food costs are skyrocketing.
8. Hundreds of people are forced to stand in line for hours to buy petrol in many major cities, including Colombo, occasionally fighting with police and the military.
9. With an extreme foreign currency crisis resulting in foreign debt default, the nation stated in April that it is postponing roughly USD 7 billion in foreign debt payments due this year, out of around USD 25 billion due until 2026.
10. The entire foreign debt of Sri Lanka is USD 51 billion.