Sri Lanka’s acting president declares state of emergency amid protests

On Saturday, legislators began the process of electing a new leader to serve the rest of the term abandoned by Mr Rajapaksa

Girls display their arms painted with message ‘Ranil go home’, referring to Ranil Wickremesinghe, at a protest in Colombo (AP)

Sri Lanka’s acting president has declared a state of emergency giving him broad authority amid growing calls for his resignation two days before the country’s legislators elect his successor.

Former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president on Friday after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled the country on Wednesday and resigned after months-long mass protests over the country’s economic collapse.