Sri Lanka crisis: Mahinda Rajapaksa resigns as PM

Mahinda Rajapaksa has resigned this morning as Sri Lanka's prime minister amid a two-month long power tussle in the island nation, local media reported today.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was ousted by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, is set to return as the prime minister after taking oath on Sunday.

Rajapaksa’s resignation came a day after the country’s Supreme Court Friday refused to stay a court order restraining the embattled former strongman from holding the office until it fully heard the case next month. The Court had separately ruled Thursday that the dissolution of Parliament by President Maithripala Sirisena was “illegal”.

Rajapakse’s controversial appointment on October 26 had plunged the island nation into political turmoil.

President Sirisena has reportedly agreed to reinstate ousted Prime Minister Wickremesinghe in the post after a discussion with him over the phone on Friday, Colombo Page reported.

Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said that it was decided during the discussion that he will take oath as the Prime Minister at 10 am on Sunday.

The President removed Wickremesinghe from the post of Prime Minister on October 26 and appointed former president Rajapaksa as the Premier, plunging the country into an unprecedented crisis.

Wickremesinghe refused to accept the sacking and challenged it in a court and in the Parliament.

The daily reported that a new Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday. The Cabinet will consist of 30 members and include six Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) parliamentarians, it said.

Rajapaksa's son on Friday announced that the former strongman will resign on Saturday.

"To ensure the stability of the nation, Former President @PresRajapaksa has decided to resign from the Premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation," Rajapaksa's son Namal tweeted.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) with the former president, SLFP and others will "now work to form a broader political coalition with President Sirisena", Namal, a lawmaker, added.