Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, telephoned the speaker of parliament saying that his resignation letter will be sent later in the day.
"The president got in touch with me over the phone and said that he will ensure that his resignation letter will be received by me today," speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a video statement.
"I appeal to the public to have confidence in the parliamentary process we have outlined to appoint a new president on the 20th and be peaceful."
(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe and Krishna N. Das; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
