The speaker of Sri Lanka's parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, announced on Friday that the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had been formally accepted after Rajapaksa fled to Singapore.

Under Sri Lanka's constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will automatically become acting president until parliament can elect an MP to succeed Rajapaksa for the rest of his term.

The speaker added that parliament will meet on Saturday, and called for a peaceful environment to allow all lawmakers to participate in the process, which should finish within a week.