Rajapaksa to step down as PM on Saturday following disputes

Sri Lankan former President Mahinda Rajapaksa will step down from the disputed position of premiership on Saturday, his son and legislator Namal Rajapaksa said on Friday.

"To ensure the stability of the nation, former President Rajapaksa has decided to resign from the premiership tomorrow after an address to the nation," Namal Rajapaksa said in a tweet.

"The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna with former President, Sri Lanka Freedom Party and others will now work to form a broader political coalition with President Maithripala Sirisena," he added.

The news comes after the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that Rajapaksa should not exercise the powers of the office he has claimed since October 26.

It also ruled as "unconstitutional" Sirisena's decision to dissolve Parliament and conduct a snap parliamentary election in early January.

Sri Lanka plunged into political turmoil when Sirisena abruptly sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in late October and replaced him with former strongman Rajapaksa.

When Sirisena's decision was contested, he dissolved Parliament and called for a snap parliamentary election in January.