The country's acting president declared a state of emergency on Monday after protesters demanded his resignation.
On Friday, Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left the country.
As protests demanding his resignation continue in most parts of the country, he has decided to impose a state of Emergency.
The process of electing a new leader began on Saturday when lawmakers met. Lawmakers will vote on the new president if there is more than one candidate.
The emergency decree issued by Wickremesinghe allows him to make regulations in the interests of public security, the preservation of public order, and the maintenance of essential supplies.
The emergency regulations allowWickremesinghe to take possession of any property and conduct searches. Any law can be changed or suspended by him.
Political uncertainty has been caused by the economic crisis in the South Indian island nation.
SriLanka has run out of money to pay for imports of basic necessities such as food, medicine and fuel. The economy had been growing and the middle class was growing before the crisis.
Even though it is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund and other creditor, top officials say it is hard to get a loan.
Protests demanded the government led by Rajapaksa step down due to the economic hardship. The ministers who resigned in April were not the only ones.
Protesters occupied the front of the president's office in the capital for more than 100 days.
The protesters accuse the family of the president of swindling money from the government and of causing the country's collapse. The family denied the corruption allegations but acknowledged that some of the policies of the president contributed to the country's downfall.
The president flew to the islands first and then to Singapore the next day.
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