Sri Lanka president agrees to remove his brother as prime minister

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to replace his older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, as prime minister in a proposed interim government to solve a political impasse caused by the country’s worst economic crisis in a decade.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed that a national council will be appointed to name a new prime minister and a Cabinet comprised of all parties in parliament, prominent lawmaker Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday after meeting with the president, reports AP.

Sirisena, who was president before Rajapaksa, was a governing party lawmaker before defecting earlier this month along with nearly 40 other legislators.

However, Rohan Weliwita, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the president has not communicated any intent to remove the prime minister and a decision will be announced if such a step is taken.

Sri Lanka is near bankruptcy and has announced it is suspending payments on its foreign loans until it negotiates a rescue plan with International Monetary Fund. It has to repay $7 billion in foreign debt this year, and $25 billion by 2026. Its foreign reserves stand at less than $1 billion.