The New Srilankan president will be elected on July 20

The New Srilankan president will be elected on July 20.

Sri Lanka, which is basically without a leader and utterly insolvent, has opted to pick a new President from inside the Parliament on July 20.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa formally notified Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena that he would step down on July 13, as he had previously pledged.

To determine the next steps in appointing an all-party administration, the Speaker called more than 35 political party representatives from both the government and the opposition. Also present at the meeting was Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

“It was resolved to call a special session of Parliament on July 15 and to make a statement on the open position of Presidency. Nominations would be requested on July 19 to elect a new President on July 20 in the Parliament.

According to the Constitution, Parliament must be called within three days of a vacancy in the position of President, and a call for nominations must be issued. Ranjith Maddumabandara, general secretary of Samagi Janawbalwegaya, the largest opposition party, indicated that an election should be conducted within two days.

The cabinet members informed Wickremesinghe of their decision to cede control of the government to an upcoming all-party administration during their meeting with him on Saturday morning.

According to sources, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, governor of the central bank, has cautioned that further political unrest may exacerbate the present economic crisis by delaying discussions on help.