Sri Lanka`s President Gotabaya Escapes to Maldives Ahead of His Resignation

His escape comes barely days after he had sworn over the weekend to retire on Wednesday the 13th and pave the way for a "peaceful transition of power."

Rajapaksa has immunity from arrest as president, and he is thought to have sought to travel abroad before stepping down to avoid being detained.

Details sourced by this publication revealed that the president his wife, and a bodyguard were among four passengers on board an Antonov-32 military plane that took off from Sri Lanka's principal international airport.

When they arrived in the Maldives, they were escorted by police to a secret location, according to an airport official in Male.

The 73-year-old leader, dubbed "The Terminator," had been held up for more than 24 hours in a humiliating standoff with immigration officials in Colombo.

President Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to the point where the country has run out of foreign currency to finance even the most basic imports, causing significant suffering for the 22 million people.

If he stands down as promised, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will become acting president until parliament elects a member to serve the presidential term, which expires in November 2024.

The succession process could take anywhere from three days (the least period required to assemble parliament) to the maximum of 30 days allowed by the legislation. If Rajapaksa does stand down on Wednesday, the vote would be held on July 20, according to the parliamentary speaker.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa flies out of the country in a military aircraft to the nearby Maldives. He is the 2nd President from South Asia after Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan to flee. Gotabaya Rajapaksa's rule was Islamophic but he escapes to an Islamic country.

— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 12, 2022