Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Saturday in an attempt to put an end to the weeks of political instability in the country, PTI reported. He signed the resignation letter at his home in Wijerama in Colombo. Ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath on Sunday, according to The New Indian Express.

Rajapaksa’s son Namal Rajapaksa had said on Friday that his father will step down the next day in interest of the “stability of the nation”. Namal Rajapaksa, a member of Parliament, had said the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and others will now work with President Maithripala Sirisena’s United People’s Freedom Alliance to form a broader coalition government.

The island country has been in a state of political turmoil since Sirisena ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former president, on October 26. He suspended Parliament to prevent a vote, then lifted the suspension, but dissolved it again in November and called for snap elections on January 5. Rajapaksa’s government has lost two trust motions in Parliament. On Thursday, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ruled that Sirisena’s decision to dissolve Parliament was illegal and unconstitutional.</s>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Supporters say disputed Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to resign in an attempt to end the country's political crisis.

The decision Friday came a day after the Supreme Court ruled that President Maithripala Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and appoint Rajapaksa as prime minister was unconstitutional.

A look at how Sri Lanka has plunged into a political crisis and what could happen next:

HOW IT CAME ABOUT

The conflict began when Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Rajapaksa, a former strongman president, in his place. Wickremesinghe said that Sirisena didn't follow the constitution in removing him and claimed to still be the lawful prime minister. Rajapaksa sought to secure a majority in Parliament but failed. In response, Sirisena dissolved Parliament and ordered new elections, but those actions were put on hold by the Supreme Court until it heard the case and delivered its judgment Thursday. After the court suspended the dissolution, Parliament reconvened and passed two no-confidence votes against Rajapaksa, but he held on to office with Sirisena's backing. Parliament also voted to block funds for him and his Cabinet. Lawmakers opposing Rajapaksa took the fight to the Court of Appeal, which suspended Rajapaksa and his Cabinet from functioning in their positions until it concludes the case. Rajapaksa asked the Supreme Court to end the suspension, but it rejected the request on Friday.

Sirisena and Wickremesinghe are ideological opponents who formed a coalition to defeat Rajapaksa in 2015 elections. Rajapaksa, who was president from 2005 to 2015, is considered a hero by some in Sri Lanka's ethnic Sinhalese majority because he oversaw the end of a 25-year civil war by crushing ethnic minority Tamil rebels in 2009. But his time in power was marred by allegations of war-time atrocities, corruption and nepotism. Sirisena had opposed Wickremesinghe's efforts to investigate alleged military abuses in the final days of the war.

A pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, said Rajapaksa decided in a meeting with Sirisena to resign Saturday to allow the president to appoint a new government. Sirisena has resisted suggestions that he reappoint Wickremesinghe, but may now be compelled to do so since Wickremesinghe has shown he has the support of 117 lawmakers, a majority of the 225-member Parliament. Reappointing Wickremesinghe would allow a functioning government and Parliament. It would also allow lawmakers to dissolve Parliament by a two-thirds vote and hold new elections. Lawmakers could also attempt to impeach Sirisena on the basis of the Supreme Court ruling that his order to dissolve Parliament violated the constitution. But it may be difficult to obtain the required support of two-thirds of Parliament's members to approve an impeachment motion.

Without a functioning government, the national budget for 2019 can't be approved. That means that after Jan. 1 there would be no funds for public programs and no salaries for government employees. A $1 billion foreign debt repayment is due early next year and it is not clear if that can be paid without a finance minister legally in place.</s>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan lawmaker said that disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign Saturday to end the country’s political crisis.

The pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, told reporters that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting Friday with President Maithripala Sirisena to resign to allow the president to appoint a new government.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year.

“Unless the prime minister resigns, another prime minister cannot be appointed. But the country needs to face situations that it needs to face in January; a country cannot function without a budget,” Abeywardena said. “Therefore Mr. Rajapaksa says that he will make a special statement tomorrow and resign from the position of prime minister.”

The decision appears to have been hastened by a Supreme Court decision to extend a lower court’s suspension of Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.

The country runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from Jan. 1 if there is no government to approve the budget. It also has a foreign debt repayment of $1 billion due in early January and it is unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Sri Lanka has been in political crisis since October, when Sirisena abruptly sacked then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by some as a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism. After his appointment as prime minister, he sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down that move as unconstitutional.

Sirisena has repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but may now be compelled to do so since Wickremesinghe has the support of 117 lawmakers in Parliament.</s>COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- A Sri Lankan lawmaker said that disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign Saturday to end the country's political crisis.

The pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, told reporters that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting Friday with President Maithripala Sirisena to resign to allow the president to appoint a new government.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year.

"Unless the prime minister resigns, another prime minister cannot be appointed. But the country needs to face situations that it needs to face in January; a country cannot function without a budget," Abeywardena said. "Therefore Mr. Rajapaksa says that he will make a special statement tomorrow and resign from the position of prime minister."

The decision appears to have been hastened by a Supreme Court decision to extend a lower court's suspension of Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.

The country runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from Jan. 1 if there is no government to approve the budget. It also has a foreign debt repayment of $1 billion due in early January and it is unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Sri Lanka has been in political crisis since October, when Sirisena abruptly sacked then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by some as a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism. After his appointment as prime minister, he sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down that move as unconstitutional.

Sirisena has repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but may now be compelled to do so since Wickremesinghe has the support of 117 lawmakers in Parliament.</s>Rajapaksa set to quit as Sri Lanka's premier to end crisis

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan lawmaker said that disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign Saturday to end the country's political crisis.

The pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, told reporters that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting Friday with President Maithripala Sirisena to resign to allow the president to appoint a new government.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year.

"Unless the prime minister resigns, another prime minister cannot be appointed. But the country needs to face situations that it needs to face in January; a country cannot function without a budget," Abeywardena said. "Therefore Mr. Rajapaksa says that he will make a special statement tomorrow and resign from the position of prime minister."

The decision appears to have been hastened by a Supreme Court decision to extend a lower court's suspension of Rajapaksa and his Cabinet. The top court put off the next hearing until mid-January, when it plans to rule on whether they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.

The country runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from Jan. 1 if there is no government to approve the budget. It also has a foreign debt repayment of $1 billion due in early January and it is unclear if it can be serviced without a lawful finance minister.

Sri Lanka has been in political crisis since October, when Sirisena abruptly sacked then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa is a former strongman president who is considered by some as a war hero for defeating the Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 after a long civil war. But he lost a 2015 re-election bid amid allegations of wartime atrocities, corruption and nepotism. After his appointment as prime minister, he sought to secure a majority in the 225-member Parliament but failed. Sirisena then dissolved Parliament and called new elections, but the Supreme Court struck down that move as unconstitutional.

Sirisena has repeatedly rejected appeals to reappoint Wickremesinghe as prime minister, but may now be compelled to do so since Wickremesinghe has the support of 117 lawmakers in Parliament.</s>COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka’s embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Saturday, only a month and a half after taking office and giving the country’s president political space to prevent an imminent government shutdown.

The South Asian island has been in political limbo since President Maithripala Sirisena in late October replaced former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Rajapaksa, who was then twice sacked by parliament but had refused to resign.

But as a government shutdown loomed, Rajapaksa put in his papers and said in a statement on Saturday that a change of government that “the people expected” has now been put off.

“I have no intention of remaining as Prime Minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the President in any way, I will resign from the position of Prime Minister and make way for the President to form a new government,” Rajapaksa said in the statement.

He emphasised the need for an election to resolve the county’s economic and political crisis and said the main challenge now was to form a government. He also spoke against what he described as the “destructive forces” of people seeking to restore their former offices.

“We will bring the forces opposed to the country down to their knees by organising the people,” Rajapaksa said.

Representatives of Sirisena and Wickremesinghe could not immediately be contacted.

Wickremesinghe’s office on Friday said that Sirisena had called the former prime minister by telephone to invite him to be sworn back into office on Sunday. Sirisena had previously said he would not appoint Wickremesinghe “even if he has the backing of all 225 lawmakers in parliament”.

The country’s parliament had voted to cut the budget for Rajapaksa and his ministers after Sirisena had refused to accept no confidence votes against Rajapaksa saying that due procedure was not followed.

It remains unclear how Sirisena plans to end the political crisis that threatens to shut down the government on Jan. 1, by which time a temporary budget must be approved by parliament.

The country’s Supreme Court on Friday rejected Rajapaksa’s bid for an injunction on a lower court’s order that barred him and his cabinet from carrying out their roles in government.

Many foreign countries have refused to recognise Rajapaksa’s government. Credit rating agencies Fitch and Standard & Poor’s have downgraded Sri Lanka, citing refinancing risks and an uncertain policy outlook.

Earlier this week, the island nation’s parliament passed a vote of confidence in favour of Wickremesinghe, as it sought his reinstatement as prime minister by the president to defuse the political crisis.</s>COLOMBO: Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was appointed as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister by President Maithripala Sirisena in a controversial move, resigned Saturday as two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled former strongman’s efforts to cling to premiership untenable.

 Rajapaksa informed the lawmakers of United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that he has resigned from the post, MP Shehan Semasinghe told reporters.

 Rajapaksa was appointed as the prime minister on October 26 by President Sirisena in a controversial move after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe, which plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

 The apex court on Thursday unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena was “illegal”.

 Pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, had told reporters that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting on Friday with President Sirisena to resign to allow the President to appoint a new government.

Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister on Sunday.

 President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday. PTI</s>Colombo, Sri Lanka: A Sri Lankan lawmaker said that disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign Saturday to end the country's political crisis.

The pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, told reporters that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting Friday with President Maithripala Sirisena to resign to allow the president to appoint a new government.

Sri Lanka has had no functioning government for nearly two weeks and is facing the prospect of being unable to pass a budget for next year.

"Unless the prime minister resigns, another prime minister cannot be appointed. But the country needs to face situations that it needs to face in January; a country cannot function without a budget," Abeywardena said. "Therefore Mr. Rajapaksa says that he will make a special statement tomorrow and resign from the position of prime minister."</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption Mahinda Rajapaksa attended a religious ceremony after resigning on Saturday

Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned as Sri Lanka's prime minister, seven weeks after he was appointed in a surprise move that sparked a political crisis.

Mr Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's former president, signed his resignation letter in a ceremony at his house.

Former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to return to office on Sunday.

The resignation could bring to an end a nearly two-month-long power struggle that has dented confidence in Sri Lanka's stability.

"Since I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the president in any way, I will resign from the position of prime minister and make way for the president to form a new government," Mr Rajapaksa said in his resignation statement.

In October, President Maithripala Sirisena sacked then prime minister Mr Wickremesinghe, replacing him with Mr Rajapaksa.

Harin Fernando, a spokesman for Mr Wickremesinghe's party, told the BBC: "The president has agreed to swear in Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister tomorrow at 10am."

He said this would end the political deadlock, remarking that the country and its economy had suffered "huge damage" since the crisis began 50 days ago.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court said Mr Sirisena had acted illegally in November by dissolving parliament and calling snap polls with nearly two years to go until elections were due.

Throughout the crisis, Mr Wickremesinghe has always maintained he is the rightful prime minister.

The crisis, which has provoked brawls in parliament and sparked large protests, has been closely watched by regional power India, as well as the US, China and the European Union.

Mr Rajapaksa, who dominated Sri Lankan politics for a decade until 2015, has an uneasy relationship with the West over the bloody end to the country's civil war in 2009, when thousands of civilians were killed. Both government forces and the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels are accused of grave human rights abuses and crimes.

On Wednesday, parliament passed a vote of confidence in Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister.

His party and its allies have a simple majority in parliament - and have argued from the beginning that President Sirisena's actions were unconstitutional.

What are the roots of the saga?

Mr Sirisena was once a party ally of Mr Rajapaksa, and served in his government.

But in 2015, he teamed up with Ranil Wickremesinghe to defeat him in an election and the pair went on to form a coalition government.

However the relationship between president and prime minister turned sour and Mr Sirisena in October turned on Mr Wickremesinghe, sacking him in favour of Mr Rajapaksa, his old ally-turned-rival-turned-ally.

He called Mr Wickremesinghe arrogant and linked him to a controversial central bank bond sale, which is alleged to have led to the loss of 11bn Sri Lankan rupees ($65m; £50m). The president also alleged that a cabinet minister was involved in a plot to kill him and that police had obstructed an investigation.</s>Mahinda Rajapaksa signed what was called a 'resignation' letter at his residence in capital Colombo.

Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly resigned from his post. (Photo: AP)

Colombo: Sri Lanka's disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has reportedly resigned from his post, ending a period of turbulence in the country's parliamentary history where he clung on to power despite suffering no-confidence motions.

Mahinda Rajapaksa signed what was called a 'resignation' letter at his residence in capital Colombo.

Rajapaksa informed the lawmakers of United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that he has resigned from the post, MP Shehan Semasinghe told reporters.

Rajapaksa was appointed as the prime minister on October 26 by President Sirisena in a controversial move after sacking Ranil Wickremesinghe, which plunged the country into an unprecedented constitutional crisis.

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

The apex court on Thursday unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by Sirisena was "illegal".

Pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, had told reporters that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting on Friday with President Sirisena to resign to allow the President to appoint a new government.

After Rajapaksa's resignation, Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister on Sunday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, Colombo Page reported.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said that it was decided during the discussion that he will take oath as the Prime Minister on Sunday.
Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as prime minister, effectively ending the constitutional crisis.