Sri Lankan president resigns by email after fleeing to Singapore

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has tendered his resignation in a letter sent by email to parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardenena, according to an announcement from the speaker's office Thursday, News.az reports citing BBC.

Rajapaksa landed in Singapore on a flight from Maldives earlier after fleeing his country in the wake of anti-government protests.

Abeywardenena has received an email with Rajapaksa's resignation, the speaker's office confirmed to CNN Thursday, but added that "we cannot accept such an email at face value."

"The legality of it needs to be ascertained. It has been shared with the relevant authorities for the verification of the same," the office said. "Once we have official confirmation and it is legally verified, we hope to make a statement regarding it tomorrow [Friday] morning."

Abeywardenena's office added that it is expecting to receive a paper copy of the letter, but that would take longer as it would be sent from Singapore.

According to a high-ranking government source the letter was emailed after Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been shared publicly by officials.

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