Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the embattled president of Sri Lanka, left the country early on Wednesday for the Maldives, likely as a precursor to his resignation following months of widespread demonstrations against the island’s worst-ever economic crisis.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa left his official residence in Colombo just before tens of thousands of protesters overran it over the weekend, promising to step down on Wednesday to allow for a “peaceful transition of power.”
Rajapaksa is believed to have wanted to leave the country before resigning in order to avoid the possibility of being arrested because he is immune from arrest in his capacity as president.
An Antonov-32 military plane carrying him, his wife, and a bodyguard took off from Sri Lanka’s main international airport, according to immigration sources.
An airport official in Male reported that upon their arrival in the Maldives, they were escorted by police as they were driven to an undisclosed location.
The 73-year-old leader, formerly known as “The Terminator,” had been unable to leave for more than 24 hours due to an embarrassing standoff with immigration officials in Colombo.
The staff at Bandaranaike International refused to provide VIP services and insisted that all passengers must go through public counters, preventing him from taking a commercial flight to Dubai.
According to a security official, the presidential party was hesitant to use the established channels out of concern for the public’s reaction. As a result, they missed four flights on Monday that would have allowed them to travel to the United Arab Emirates.
According to a security official, permission for a military flight to land in India, the group’s nearest neighbour, was not immediately obtained. On Tuesday, the group briefly travelled to a naval base with the intention of escaping by sea.
Rajapaksa’s youngest brother Basil, who resigned in April as finance minister, missed his own Emirates flight to Dubai early Tuesday after a tense standoff of his own with airport staff.
Basil, a dual citizen of the US and Sri Lanka, attempted to use a paid concierge service for
When the Rajapaksas made a hasty retreat on Saturday to avoid mobs, Basil was forced to obtain a new US passport after leaving his behind at the presidential palace, a diplomatic source said.
According to official sources, a suitcase containing numerous documents was also abandoned at the palatial mansion along with 17.85 million rupees (roughly $50,000) in cash, which is currently in the care of a Colombo court.
He was still the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and had access to military resources, but the president’s office had not made any official announcement about his whereabouts.
Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to the extent that the nation has run out of foreign currency to finance even the most basic imports, resulting in excruciating hardship for the 22 million people living in the country.
In the event that he fulfils his promise to resign, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will take over as president indefinitely until the parliament chooses a member of the legislature to complete his remaining term, which expires in November 2024.
However, Wickremesinghe has publicly stated that he would resign if a unity government could be formed.
The minimum amount of time required to call a session of parliament is three days, and the statute permits a maximum of 30 days for the succession process. The vote would occur on July 20 if Rajapaksa does resign on Wednesday, according to the parliamentary speaker.
