Sri Lanka has become an island of sorrow. Acting President Wickremasinghe has declared a nationwide curfew. This decision came after protestors stormed into the PM’s office after taking over the President’s home on July 9. Earlier, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had announced that he will resign on July 13. However, he ended up fleeing the country with his wife and two bodyguards to the Maldvies on the same day. In the wake of this development, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was appointed as acting President. He then declared a state of emergency after protestors surrounded his office in Colombo.
The Parliament is expected to elect the President’s replacement on July 20. Protestors are furious at the Rajapaksa family and blame them for the economic crisis that Sri Lanka is drowning in. Parliament, notably, is scheduled to elect his replacement on July 20.
The tourism-dependent economy has been hammered badly by the Covid-19 pandemic and a fall in remittances from overseas Sri Lankans. The Rajapaksas brought in populist tax cuts in 2019 that affected government finances while shrinking foreign reserves curtailed imports of fuel, food and medicines Headline inflation hit 54.6% in June and the central bank has warned that it could rise to 70% in the coming months.