Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the overthrown president of Sri Lanka who fled abroad earlier this week, has said that he took "all possible steps" to avert the economic crisis that has thrown the island nation into turmoil.
"It is my personal belief that I took all possible steps to address this crisis, including inviting parliamentarians to form an all-party or unity government," read the resignation letter, which was accepted by parliament on Friday, 15 July.
Sri Lanka's parliament met on Saturday, 16 July, to initiate the process of electing a new president, and during this meeting, Dhammika Dasanayake, the secretary general of Sri Lanka’s parliament, formally read out Rajapaksa’s resignation letter, something that had been kept private until now.
"I took action to protect people from the pandemic despite being constrained by the already poor economic environment that prevailed at the time," the letter further read.
"During 2020 and 2021 I was compelled to order lockdowns and the foreign exchange situation deteriorated. In my view, I took the best course of action by suggesting an all-party or a national government to tackle the situation," it added.
Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the main opposition party, Dullas Alahapperuma, a journalist-turned-politician and Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, are all vying to become Sri Lanka's next president. You can read more about them here.
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