Sri Lanka's parliament to elect new president on July 20

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a placard demanding Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign after his government lost its majority in the parliament, amid the country's economic crisis, during a protest near to a road leading to the parliament building in Colombo, Sri Lanka, April 5, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Sri Lanka's parliament will reconvene on July 15 and a new president will be elected on July 20, the parliamentary speaker said on Monday, as President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to resign on Wednesday amid a devastating economic crisis.

"Nominations for the next president will be presented to parliament on 19 July. On 20 July parliament will vote to elect a new president," Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a statement.

"During the party leaders' meeting held today, it was agreed that this was essential to ensure a new all-party government is in place in accordance with the Constitution and to take forward essential services."

FILE PHOTO: Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presents the new government's policy statement during the inaugural session of the new Parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, August 20, 2020. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe; Editing by Hugh Lawson)