Published on 07:53 PM, July 11, 2022

Parliament to elect new Sri Lanka president July 20

A person holds a placard demanding Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign after his government lost its majority in the parliament, amid the country's economic crisis, during a protest near to a road leading to the parliament building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on April 5, 2022. File photo: Reuters/ Dinuka Liyanawatte

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.

"Nominations for the next president will be presented to parliament on 19 July. On 20 July parliament will vote to elect a new president," Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a statement.

"During the party leaders' meeting held today, it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution and to take forward essential services."