Sri Lanka’s disputed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has stepped down from his post, signalling an end to a seven-week long political crisis that has kept the Indian Ocean nation without a functional government.

Rajapaksa signed a letter of resignation in front of supporters and journalists at his private residence on Saturday.

The 73-year-old former president made no immediate statement to reporters.

His son Namal Rajapaksa, also a lawmaker, said his father would make a special statement at 0830 GMT.

“He just signed the resignation letter in front of party members,” Shehan Semasinghe, a legislator from Rajapaksa’s party, told Reuters News Agency.