Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena resigned from his post on Monday as part of a power transition in the country following the presidential election won by Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The resignation came ahead of the swearing ceremony of Dissanayake.
Gunawardena, 75, was prime minister since July 2022.
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was declared winner of the Sri Lankan presidential election by the country’s Election Commission after an unprecedented second round of counting of votes.
Dissanayake, 56, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party’s broader front National People’s Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first round after he failed to become within the top two in the vote list.