Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa is expected to return home from Singapore, where he has been for almost two weeks after fleeing the country amid protests.

Rajapaksa was the focus of protesters who blamed him for a series of mistakes that led to an economic collapse with declining foreign exchange reserves and soaring inflation. He resigned on July 15 after arriving in Singapore, and his ally Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected by lawmakers last week as the new president.

Rajapaksa wanted to return home as soon as possible and live in his private residence on the outskirts of Colombo, said a Sri Lankan government official who asked not to be named.

He was admitted to Singapore as a private citizen on 14 July. Normally, Sri Lankan citizens are issued a 30-day visa, although there have been speculations in the media that Rajapaska has received a reduced permit and will return home after the protests subside.

New President Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in Sri Lanka that allows security forces to detain and arrest people in an attempt to quell months of protests.

The demonstrators also want Wickremesinghe removed from power, saying he has done little to bring Rajapaksa to justice and resolve the crisis since his appointment as prime minister in May.

Wickremesinghe intends to focus on negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and other lenders to secure loans to buy much-needed supplies of food, fuel and medicine.