Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's interim president

Colombo: Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's interim president Friday until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country's economic collapse forced him from office.

Wickremesinghe, 73, took his oath of office before chief justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.

Sri Lanka's Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has said that the new president will be elected in the next seven days after parliament convenes on July 20. The last date for filing the nominations is July 19.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa had appointed Wickremesinghe as the acting president hours after he fled to the Maldives earlier this week.

Earlier today, the resignation of Gotbaya was accepted, prompting relief and rejoice among the protesters who had camped outside his former offices.

According to AFP news agency, he emailed his notice from Singapore after flying from the Maldives. "The president has officially resigned from his position," speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana told reporters.

Gotabaya's much-sought exit came after months of intense protests against his mismanagement of the island nation's economy, low foreing reserves, and acute shortage of essential commodities, leading to severe hardships for its 22 million people.

He, his wife Ioma and their two bodyguards arrived in Singapore from the Maldives on board a Saudia airline flight, according to reports.

Media reports states that Gotabaya has not sought asylum in Singapore and is staying in the city-state for a "private visit".

"He has not asked for asylum and neither has he been granted any asylum," Singapore's foreign ministry was quoted as saying.

AFP quoting Sri Lankan security forces said that Gotabaya would most likely stay in Singapore for a few days, before potentially moving to the United Arab Emirates.