Sri Lanka's president's resignation has been accepted, the speaker of the crisis-hit country's parliament announced on Friday after fleeing the country this week, prompting relief. Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as acting president until parliament elects a new president on Wednesday.
The formal announcement makes Gotabaya Rajapaksa the first Sri Lankan head of state to resign since assuming the executive presidency in 1978.
He emailed his resignation from Singapore after flying to the city-state from the Maldives, where he originally fled after protesters occupied his palace at the weekend.
"The president has officially resigned from his position," spokeswoman Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana told reporters.
Outside the presidential secretariat, the temporary home of the months-long protest movement against Rajapaksa, Catholic priest Jeevantha Peiris told the French news agency AFP: “This is a historic moment for all Sri Lankans.
"We were ambushed, imprisoned, banned from traveling, some of our friends lost their lives. We went through all these hardships," the 45-year-old said. "We are no longer afraid."
The former president, he added, was a "bloodthirsty criminal" who should return to Sri Lanka to face justice.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as acting president - his accession was automatic under Sri Lanka's constitution - but many of the protesters see him as complicit in the Rajapaksa government and also want him gone.
Parliament will meet on Wednesday to elect a lawmaker to replace Rajapaksa for the remainder of his term, the speaker's office said, with nominations to be announced the day before.
A 'Private Visit' to Singapore
Rajapaksa's departure came after months of protests against what critics said was his mismanagement of the island nation's economy, leading to severe hardship for its 22 million people.
He, his wife Ioma and their two bodyguards arrived in Singapore from the Maldives aboard a Saudia Airlines flight.
Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency after the president fled to the Maldives
As president, Rajapaksa enjoyed immunity from arrest and is believed to have wanted to go abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of being detained.
Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed is believed to have played a behind-the-scenes role in his eviction from the country, saying Rajapaksa feared he would be killed if he stayed.
"I believe the President would not have resigned if he was still in Sri Lanka and feared he would lose his life," Nasheed wrote on Twitter.
Singapore's foreign ministry confirmed that Rajapaksa had been allowed into the city-state for a "private visit", adding: "He has neither sought nor been granted asylum."
He is expected to remain in Singapore for some time before possibly moving to the United Arab Emirates, according to Sri Lankan security sources.
The protesters leave
In Colombo, protesters on Thursday abandoned several symbolic state buildings they had occupied in recent days after Wickremesinghe ordered security forces to restore order and declared a state of emergency.
Witnesses saw dozens of activists leaving Wickremesinghe's office as armed police and security forces moved in.
A curfew was declared in the capital and armored personnel carriers patrolled some areas.
Hundreds of thousands of people have visited the prime minister's compound since it was opened to the public after he fled and his security stepped down.
Sri Lanka's leader flees amid protests over food and fuel shortages
As of Thursday afternoon, the gates were closed and armed guards were stationed inside and outside.
Police said a soldier and a constable were injured in clashes with protesters outside the national parliament as security forces repelled an attempted attack on the legislature.
Protesters also left the studios of the main state television after Wednesday's break-in.
Colombo's main hospital said about 85 injured were admitted on Wednesday, with one man suffocating to death after being teargassed in the prime minister's office.
The army and police were given fresh orders on Thursday to crack down on any violence, warning rioters that they were "legitimately empowered to exercise their power".
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