COLOMBO, Sept. 11 -- Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has begun vacating his official residence at Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo, following Parliament's decision to repeal the law granting special entitlements to former heads of state, their widows, and retired MPs.

The President's Entitlements (Repeal) Bill, passed on Wednesday (10) with a two-thirds majority of 150 votes in the 225-member House, strips former leaders of taxpayer-funded residences, staff, vehicles, and pensions that had been guaranteed under a 1986 Act. The vote came just a day after the Supreme Court ruled that the repeal did not contravene the Constitution, clearing the way for the new law to take immediate effect.

Rajapaksa's spokesperson, Attorney Manoj Gamage, tol...