New Sri Lankan president to be elected on July 20; parties attempt to cobble together joint govt: Key points

NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka's parliament will reconvene on July 15 and a new president will be elected on July 20, the parliamentary speaker said on Monday, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to resign on Wednesday amid a devastating economic crisis.
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After receiving Rajapaksa's resignation on Wednesday, Parliament will convene on July 15 to announce the vacancy and will reconvene on July 19 to accept the nominations for the post, Speaker Abeywardena said.
A parliamentary ballot will be held on July 20 to elect the new president, he said.
Meanwhile, a weekend of political chaos in Sri Lanka stretched into Monday, with opposition leaders yet to agree on replacements for Rajapaksa and his PM whose residences remain occupied by protesters angered over the country’s economic collapse.
Leaders of two opposition parties held talks Monday but could not agree on their choices for president and prime minister.
Here are the key developments happening in the crisis hit nation:
President meets defence chiefs amid unrest
Amid the political and economic unrest in Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa met with the tri-force commanders and the Chief of Defence staff, local media reported on Monday.
Rajapaksa who was aboard a tri-force naval vessel within the territorial waters of Sri Lanka following the July 9 protest, returned to land on Monday and met the tri-force commanders and Chief of Defense staff in the morning, reported Daily Mirror.
Rift between PM and president?
Sri Lanka's presidential secretariat on Monday said any communication from President Gotabaya will be released only through the Speaker of Parliament, hours after the office of PM Ranil Wickremesinghe announced that the embattled president will resign on Wednesday, signalling a possible rift between the two top leaders of the bankrupt island nation.

Rajapaksa is yet to resign formally and his whereabouts is also not yet known. However, the presidential secretariat has been issuing the President's statement even after he had fled the official residence when thousands of people stormed it on Saturday.
President flown to airport as exile rumours spread
Officials on Monday said that Gotabaya was flown to an airbase near the main international airport, raising speculation that he will flee into exile abroad.

There was no official word from the president's office about his whereabouts, but several local media reports speculated he was set to leave for Dubai later Monday.
Speaker says President has left country, later retracts statement
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is still in the country, Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena's office said on Wednesday, noting that media speculation that the embattled leader may have fled the country was sparked due to a "mistake" made by the Speaker during an interview.

Rajapaksa, 73, is yet to resign formally and his whereabouts are also not yet known.
Abeywardena, who is now tipped to be the acting president once Rajapaksa resigns on Wednesday, told BBC World Service that the president is staying "somewhere outside…in a nearby country". "He will come back on Wednesday, he will be there. He told me that he will be stepping down on July 13."
However, within a few hours, Abeywardena retracted his statement and said he had made a mistake.
Will stay on till new govt is in place: PM
In a video statement Monday, the first since the weekend protests, Wickremesinghe reiterated he will stay on until a new government is in place because he wants to work within the constitution.
“A government has to function according to the law. I am here to protect the constitution and through it fulfill the people’s demands,” Wickremesinghe said.. “What we need today is an all-party government and we will take steps to establish that.”

If opposition parties fail to form a government by the time Rajapaksa resigns, Wickremesinghe as prime minister will become acting president under the constitution.
Lost biggest treasure in fire: Wickremesinghe
Wickremesinghe also explained the sequence of events that led to the burning of his private residence on Saturday. He said the protesters gathered around his house after a lawmaker, in what Wickremesinghe said was an inaccurate tweet, stated he had refused to resign at a meeting of parliamentary party leaders.
Police charged with batons and fired tear gas, he said, adding: "The last option was to shoot. We did not shoot but they came and burnt the house."
In describing the burning of his residence Saturday, Wickremesinghe said he lost what he called “my biggest treasure” -- his library of 2,500 books, including those written during the Portuguese and Dutch colonial period from the 16th and 19th centuries.
He said there were old books written on Buddhism, those signed by leaders like former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, historical paintings and Buddhist artifacts, which he had planned donating to his old school and a university after his death.

Political parties initiate steps to form all-party govt
Sri Lanka's political parties on Monday initiated steps to form an all-party government and subsequently elect a new President on July 20 to prevent the bankrupt nation sliding further into anarchy.
President Rajapaksa has officially conveyed to PM Wickremesinghe that he will resign on July 13 as previously announced, the PM Office said on Monday, days after protesters stormed both leaders' homes in rage over the government's mishandling of the country's worst economic crisis.
The entire Sri Lankan Cabinet will resign and hand over their responsibilities to a new all-party interim government as soon as it is formed, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's office said on Monday, as the country grappled with political and economic crises.
It said all members of the cabinet have agreed to hand over their responsibilities to a new all-party government as soon as it is formed.
(With inputs from agencies)