Sri Lanka's Prime Minister resigns after Dissanayake's victory in presidential election

By Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly

COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has resigned, he said on Monday, a day after Marxist-leaning Anura Kumara Dissanayake won presidential elections in the debt-ridden Indian Ocean country.

Gunawardena, 75, took over as prime minister in July 2022 after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned amid widespread protests sparked by the worst economic crisis in decades.

In Sunday's election, Dissanayake defeated incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed by Parliament to serve the remainder of Rajapaksa's term.

“I respectfully inform you that I hereby resign as Prime Minister,” Gunawardena said in a post on X, thanking Wickremesinghe for his support during his term in office.

According to the media, Gunawardena has already submitted his resignation to President-elect Dissanayake.

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Clarence Fernandez)