Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has authorized Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to carry out presidential duties, the speaker of parliament said on Wednesday.

It came after Rajapaksa left Sri Lanka amid widespread protests in the country over an economic crisis.

"Because of his absence from the country, President Rajapaksa told me that he has appointed the prime minister to act as the president in line with the Constitution," Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana said in a brief televised statement.

Rajapaksa called the speaker, saying his resignation letter would come on Wednesday. The new president will be chosen on July 20. 

He left for Maldives early Wednesday morning and is to leave for Singapore later, sources in Maldives told The Daily Mirror.

Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency in the South Asian country on Wednesday. The police have imposed a curfew in Western Province, including the capital Colombo.

In a televised speech, Wickremesinghe said a committee, composed of the chief of defense staff, military commanders and the inspector general of police, has been appointed to control the situation in the nation after protesters took over the prime minister's office.

The committee had also been instructed to ensure the security and safety of citizens during the ongoing protests, according to the acting president. 

(Cover: Sri Lankan protesters storm Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 13, 2022. /CFP)