Sri Lanka. Protesters besiege the president's residence and demand his resignation

Protesters in Sri Lanka continued to occupy the president's official residence in Colombo for the third day in a row, saying they would not leave until he and the prime minister resign.

The protest saw aggrieved Sri Lankans storm the country's capital, Colombo, on Saturday; set fire to the prime minister's residence and occupy the president's residence.

Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told parliament speaker Mahinda Abeywardana on Saturday that he would step down as speaker by Wednesday this week following the protests.

The country of 22 million people is suffering from a dire financial crisis with severe shortages of fuel, medicine, food and other basic necessities amid record inflation and devaluation of the currency. country's currency. A severe lack of foreign currency has blocked imports.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said he will leave office once a new government is in place.

Wickremesinghe's office said this morning that the president had again confirmed his resignation to the prime minister on Wednesday.

According to Al Jazeera, party leaders are in talks to form an alternative government, an urgent requirement to continue talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.

Many feared that the outcome of Saturday's protest would affect ongoing talks with the IMF.

Mr. Wickremesinghe held a discussion with cabinet ministers on Monday morning, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

"All the ministers who took part in the discussion were of the opinion that as soon as there is an agreement to form a multi-party government, they are ready to hand over their responsibilities to this government," Al Jazeera quoted. minister's office as saying.

Sri Lanka is on the verge of bankruptcy and has suspended foreign loan repayments with nearly empty foreign exchange reserves. It announced in April that it was suspending foreign loan repayments due to a shortage of foreign currency.

Its total external debt stands at $51 billion, of which $28 billion must be repaid by the end of 2027.

According to Al Jazeera, headline inflation in Sri Lanka hit 54.6% last month, and the central bank has warned it could hit 70% in the coming months as the country relies on help from India and other countries. .

Chiamaka Okafor is a journalist at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which connects local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to cover under-reported issues around the world.

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