Amid Crisis, Sri Lanka President Vows To Curtail Own Powers
NDTV
The 72-year-old, in his first address to the nation since the start of a month-long protest campaign calling on him to quit, said he will announce a unity government in the coming days.
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa pledged Wednesday to give up most of his executive powers but stopped short of yielding to demands for his resignation over the country's economic crisis.
The 72-year-old, in his first address to the nation since the start of a month-long protest campaign calling on him to quit, said he will announce a unity government in the coming days.
"I will name a prime minister who will command a majority in parliament and the confidence of the people," Rajapaksa said in a televised speech.
He did not name the successor of his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who stepped down as prime minister on Monday to clear the way for a new cabinet.
