Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned his post in a letter emailed from Singapore, saying Parliament would meet on Saturday to select a new president. Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka to the Maldives aboard a military jet early Wednesday amid massive protests demanding his ouster. His resignation from exile sparked jubilation in the streets of the capital Colombo Thursday, where protesters continue to demand an end to corruption and nepotism they blame for Sri Lanka’s economic collapse.

Damitha Abeyrathne: “The whole country is celebrating today, because it’s a big victory. Actually, this Rajapaksa corrupted family, we never thought we will get this country free from them.”