Ceylon Chamber urges Gotabaya to resign forthwith; elect new President immediately

Sri Lanka’s most powerful business group, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Thursday urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign forthwith, noting with dismay that the letter of resignation – as promised earlier – was not submitted to the Speaker on July 13, and requested that a new President be elected immediately.

“This must be done without any further delay as requested by leaders of political parties, joint chambers, civil society organisations and the vast number of people who are staging protests in every part of the country. The chamber also urges the Speaker not to delay the process of electing a new president till July 20 and to have it done with immediate effect as a matter of utmost urgency,” the chamber said in a statement.  

It also urged all political party leaders and members of parliament to make every effort to agree unanimously on candidates for the post of President and Prime Minister as that would be the need of the hour given the acrimonious political environment experienced in recent times.

“While recognising the historic contribution made by the protesting public in creating significant changes in the political landscape of the country, we urge all concerned to be calm and patient, maintain law and order and not disrupt the parliamentary process that can deliver a solution to this unprecedented political crisis. We appeal to all protesters to vacate the government premises that are being forcefully occupied to ensure that public property is not damaged,” it said adding that the chamber also requests defence authorities to maintain the law and order situation in the country.