Lanka central bank chief to stay in job; new Prez to be elected on July 20

Sri Lanka’s central bank governor signalled on Monday he would stay in the job but warned that prolonged political instability in the country may delay progress on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package. 

Governor P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, who has been holding bailout talks with the IMF since taking office in April, had told reporters in May he could resign if there was no political stability. 

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to resign on Wednesday while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also offered to quit, without specifying a date, to make way for a unity government. 

Protesters stormed their residences on Saturday and have vowed to stay put until the two leaders resigned. 

The parliament will reconvene on July 15 and a new president will be elected on July 20 and the cabinet will make way for a unity government, the prime minister’s office said. 

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Monday told BBC that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has left the island and is in a nearby country. 

The president was flown to an airbase near the main international airport Monday, officials said, raising speculation he will flee into exile abroad.