A Sri Lankan lawmaker says disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will resign Saturday to end the country’s political crisis.
The pro-Rajapaksa lawmaker, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, said Friday that Rajapaksa decided in a meeting with President Maithripala Sirisena to resign to allow the president to appoint a new government.
Sri Lanka has been without a functioning government for nearly two weeks after a court suspended Rajapaksa and his Cabinet while it decides if they should hold office after losing two no-confidence votes in Parliament.
Sri Lanka runs the risk of being unable to use state funds from Jan. 1 if there is no government to approve the budget.
The country has been in political crisis since October, when Sirisena abruptly sacked then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with Rajapaksa.
