Colombo (dpa) - Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yaba Abeywardena announced on Wednesday the appointment of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting president.

In a televised statement, Abeywardena said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country earlier in the day, had delegated to Wickremesinghe the power to act on his behalf.

Rajapaksa fled the country by flying to the Maldives, after weeks of protests and after protesters stormed his office last Saturday.