More than 40 MPs have left Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's coalition government.

MPs from parties aligned with Mr Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led coalition said they would now independently represent themselves.

It comes as the South Asian nation is grappling with power cuts and shortages due to an economic and foreign exchange crisis.

This has led to mass protests demanding Mr Rajapaksa's resignation.

Mr Rajapaksa's cabinet has already resigned, but both the president and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa have so far refused to step down.

Instead, the president called on opposition parties to help him form a national government and accept cabinet portfolios.

They have all refused and have reiterated demands for him to resign.

Anti-government protests are expected to continue on Tuesday in major cities across the country.

In the past days, demonstrations calling for the resignation of the president have picked up momentum.

Protesters even defied a curfew meant to last from Friday to Sunday in order to halt a planned day of protests, after a demonstration outside the president's house on Thursday night turned violent.

The demonstrations mark a massive turnaround in popularity for Mr Rajapaksa, who swept into power with a majority win in 2019, promising stability and a "strong hand" to rule the country.

Sri Lanka is now struggling to pay for imports of fuel and other goods because of a shortage of foreign exchange, which has exacerbated its worst economic crisis since independence from the UK in 1948.

The country needs foreign currency to pay for imports of fuel

Also on Tuesday, Sri Lanka's top medical body declared a public health emergency due to a lack of medicines and equipment in the country.

That means state healthcare facilities, which a majority of Sri Lankans depend on, will now only prioritise emergency and urgent care services.

The nation's peak medical body, the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) said it had decided to declare a medical emergency following a crisis meeting on Monday.

Its members across the country were reporting critical shortages of medicine and equipment. Hospitals were also struggling to provide even emergency medical care, the association said.

"Both the government and health ministry have failed to prevent a complete breakdown of the medical system," GMOA said in a statement.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1249 HRS, APR 05, 2022
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