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Sri Lanka's acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe has told broadcaster CNN that Gotabaya Rajapaksa's government was "covering up facts", while adding that he aimed to stabilise the island nation's devastated economy by the end of 2023.
"By the end of next year let's start stabilising, and certainly by 2024 let's have a functioning economy which will start growing," Wickremesinghe told CNN in an interview.
Earlier, the acting president declared a state of emergency, according to a government notice released late on Sunday.
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"It is expedient, so to do, in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community," the notification stated.
Sri Lanka’s ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled overseas this week to escape a popular uprising against his government, said he took "all possible steps" to avert the economic crisis that has engulfed the island nation.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation was accepted by parliament on Friday.
He flew to the Maldives and then Singapore after hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters came out onto the streets of Colombo a week ago and occupied his official residence and offices.
Sri Lanka's parliament met on Saturday to begin the process of electing a new president, and a shipment of fuel arrived to provide some relief to the crisis-hit nation.
Wickremesinghe, an ally of Rajapaksa, is one of the top contenders to take on the presidency full-time but protesters also want him gone, leading to the prospect of further unrest should he be elected.
