Sri Lanka crisis | PM Ranil Wickremesinghe ‘to declare Emergency’, curfew imposed in Western Province
Posted on July 13th, 2022
Courtesy The Hindu
Even as Gotabaya Rajapaksa is officially yet to resign, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to declare an island-wide Emergency ‘after he becomes acting President’
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will declare an island-wide Emergency when he becomes acting President, his office said on July 13 although President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is yet to officially resign. A curfew has also been imposed in the Western Province.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa said in a tweet that PM becomes acting President only if the President appoints him as such, or if the office of President is vacant, or if the CJ in consultation with the Speaker forms the view that the President is unable to act.”
In the absence of any of these, the PM cannot exercise the powers of President, and cannot declare curfew or a state of emergency,” Mr. Premadasa added.
The move came as thousands of angry protesters gathered outside the PM’s office, official and private residences, and several other locations in capital Colombo on July 13 morning.
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The development came hours after Mr. Gotabaya fled the country, amid a worsening economic crisis that culminated in a dramatic takeover of the President’s office and home last weekend, and torching of the PM’s private residence.
Asked how Mr. Wickremesinghe could invoke powers of an acting President” when Mr. Gotabaya is still in office, PM’s spokesman Dinouk Colombage told The Hindu: The legal explanation will follow. We want to get the situation under control first.”