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Sri Lankan PM to Step Down, Clearing Way For New President

Associated Press

   COLOMBO, SRI LANKA - Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
   plans to step down, clearing the way for Parliament to choose a new
   prime minister to work with newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
   Wickremesinghe's office said in a statement Wednesday that he will
   submit his resignation to the president on Thursday.
   A lawmaker supporting Rajapaksa said a new prime minister will be
   announced when the president receives Wickremesinghe's resignation.
   The move clears the first hurdle for Rajapaksa in appointing his own
   Cabinet. Under the constitution, Wickremesinghe can continue as prime
   minister until March, when the president can legally dissolve
   Parliament.
   Rajapaksa won last Saturday's presidential election, beating Sajith
   Premadasa, the candidate of Wickremesinghe's party.

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