State Of Emergency Declared By Sri Lanka’s Acting President
Mumbai: Acting Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency as the country grapples with social unrest and a crippling economic crisis.
The gazette notification stated that in the interest of public safety, protection of public order and maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community, a public emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka, local media outlet Daily Mirror reported.
The state of emergency has been declared in a proclamation by Wickremesinghe in terms of Article 40(1)(C) of the Constitution, by virtue of the powers vested in him by Section 2 of the Public Security Ordinance (Chapter 40), as amended by Act No. 8 of 1959, Law No. 6 of 1978 and Act No. 28 of 1988, the newspaper reported.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has offered to resign after leaving the country and fleeing to Singapore. The president was the first to leave for the Maldives after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence in the capital Colombo.
The Sri Lankan parliament announced that nominations for the presidential election will take place on Tuesday and the election of the new Sri Lankan president will take place on 20 July. It is interesting to note that the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa is set to contest the presidential election. Describing the scenario of victory in Sri Lanka’s presidential election as a “difficult job”, Premadasa on Friday said he will contest as he is confident that truth will prevail.
The economy in Sri Lanka is set for a sharp contraction due to the non-availability of basic inputs for production, 80 per cent depreciation of currency since March 2022, lack of foreign reserves and the country’s failure to meet its international debt obligations.
Hundreds of indebted Sri Lankans queue up every day at petrol pumps across the country amid fuel shortages, and a large number of people abandon their cars and motorcycles to cycle for their daily commute.
The economic crisis which is the worst in Sri Lanka’s history has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like fuel. Long queues at fuel stations in Sri Lanka are the new normal and prices fluctuate subject to availability.
Skyrocketing prices of fuel are also one of the reasons behind the spike in bicycle sales and some stores are running out of stock.
Follow us on Twitter, Google News and Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and exciting stories.
