Colombo: Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday pledged to maintain law and order and revive the 19th Amendment to the Constitution aimed at empowering Parliament over the executive president as he was sworn in as Sri Lanka's interim president until the House elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Rajapaksa, currently in Singapore, emailed his resignation to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, who said on Friday that he accepted his resignation, which he received late on Thursday.
Wickremesinghe, 73, was sworn in as the acting president of Sri Lanka before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
Addressing Parliament after he was sworn in as interim President, Wickremesinghe, who is also the prime minister, pledged to strictly maintain law and order in the country which has witnessed massive anti-government protests and occupation of key government buildings.
He said that the armed forces have been given the powers and the freedom to deal with any acts of violence and sabotage. "I am one hundred per cent supportive of peaceful demonstrations. There is a difference between rioters and protesters," he said.
Wickremesinghe said the true protesters would not resort to unleashing violence.
He said as acting President his first task would be to revive the 19th amendment to the Constitution. A draft would soon be prepared for its restoration.
The Parliament will meet on Saturday and the new President will be elected within seven days in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, the Daily Mirror Lanka quoted Speaker Abeywardena
as saying.