Ranil Wickremesinghe likely to take oath as Sri Lanka’s PM on Dec 16

Ranil Wickremesinghe is expected to take oath as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister on Sunday, December 16, after disputed Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign on Saturday, December 15 , signalling an end to the nearly two-month power tussle in the island nation.

President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, Colombo Page reported.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said that it was decided during the discussion that he will take oath as the Prime Minister at 10 am on Sunday.

The President removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.

Rajapaksa's son Namal Rajapaksa on Friday, December 14, announced that the former strongman will resign on Saturday, after two crucial Supreme Court decisions made the embattled leader's efforts to cling to premiership untenable.

"To ensure stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation," Rajapaksa's son Namal tweeted.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with former president, SLFP and others will "now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena", Namal, a lawmaker, added.

The daily reported that a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday, December 17. The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians, it said.

The apex court on Friday, December 14, refused to stay a court order restraining Rajapaksa, 73, from holding the office of Prime Minister until it fully heard the case next month.

The apex court's Friday ruling came a day after it unanimously declared that the dissolution of Parliament by President Sirisena was "illegal".