Sri Lanka premier quits

SRI Lanka’s disputed prime minister has resigned, saying he wanted to end a long political impasse over his appointment and allow the president to form a new government.

Mahinda Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation at his residence in Colombo. It has been suggested he decided to step down to end a crisis that began in October when president Maithripala Sirisena sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Rajapaksa was named as the new premier, but Parliament twice rejected the move.

He said in a statement he was quitting because “I have no intention of remaining as prime minister without a general election being held, and in order to not hamper the president in any way”.