Sri Lankan lawmakers chose six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president Wednesday to succeed the ousted leader who fled the country in a vote that risks reigniting political turmoil in the troubled South Asian island nation.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, president of Sri Lanka, who has fled to the Maldives early today (July 13, 2022), is expected to announce his resignation from office.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed to be acting president as incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa was overseas, the parliamentary Speaker announced Wednesday as thousands of protesters demanded both men step down.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country early on Wednesday, two sources told Reuters, hours before he was due to step down amid widespread protests over his handling of a devastating economic crisis.

Two dates – May 9 and July 9 – will remain significant for the Rajapaksa brothers in Sri Lanka.

Five-time former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be reappointed on Thursday in an effort to bring stability to the island nation, engulfed in a political and economic crisis, a party official said.

A Sri Lankan court on Thursday banned former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his politician son Namal and 15 allies from leaving the country over violence against anti-government demonstrators.

Sri Lanka's former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family have taken shelter at a naval base at the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee district, as deadly protests continue amid the country's worst-ever economic crisis, NDTV reports.

Two people including an MP from the ruling party died and at least 139 were injured on Monday in a day of violence in Sri Lanka, police and hospital officials said.

Sri Lanka’s president has agreed to replace his older brother as prime minister in a proposed interim government to solve a political impasse caused by the country’s worst economic crisis in decades, a prominent lawmaker said Friday.

Sri Lanka's speaker of parliament says he would not accept a former president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as the new prime minister until he proves he commands a majority in parliament.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena suspended parliament yesterday to forestall a challenge against his surprise ouster of the prime minister, deepening a sudden swell of political turmoil in the island nation.