Sri Lankan PM appointed Acting President: Speaker

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Acting President in accordance with the Article 37.1 of the Constitution, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardhane said on Wednesday.

He added in a special statement that the President has informed him that the Prime Minister was appointed as the Acting President as he was away from the country, the Daily Mirror reported.

President Rajapaksa has arrived in the Maldives earlier on Wednesday morning after having fled Sri Lanka and will be making his way to a final destination. Where that is however, is still unclear.