Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 20 (ANI): Ranil Wickremesinghe will take oath as the President of Sri Lanka at the parliament complex on Thursday after his victory in a parliament vote to choose a new president for the South Asian country.
Wickremesinghe will be sworn in on Thursday morning and will appoint a new prime minister within the course of the day, the officials from the President’s office told Xinhua.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe this afternoon expressed gratitude to the three armed forces and the police who performed their duties in the security affairs of the Parliament in the past few days, the release by President’s Media Division read.
Wickremesinghe further said that he is thankful to all those who dedicated themselves to protecting the country’s democracy, the release added. Ranil Wickremesinghe received 134 votes in the parliament vote following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa from the presidency last week amid severe economic turmoil in the country.
Soon after winning the parliament vote by secret ballot, Wickremesinghe addressed the parliament, calling on all legislators including the opposition parliamentarians to unite and work together with him to lead Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.
“We are at a critical juncture. There is an economic crisis and the youth want a system change. People want all parliamentarians to come together,” said Wickremesinghe.
Out of the 225 parliamentarians, 223 voted to elect a new president and there were four invalid votes. Another two candidates, parliamentarian of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party Dullas Alahapperuma, and National People’s Power leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, got 82 votes and three votes, respectively.
Wickremesinghe is not a new name in politics and has served as the Prime Minister of the island nation six times earlier. He was one of the top contenders for the Presidential election in which members of the House voted through a secret ballot.
Earlier, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the interim president of Sri Lanka after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad after his palace was stormed by angry protesters amid the unprecedented economic crisis.
After his official residence in the capital, Colombo was stormed by tens of thousands of angry protesters last week, Sri Lanka’s ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country to the Maldives before flying out to Singapore. Rajapaksa had offered his resignation after fleeing the country.
The main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa on Tuesday withdrew his candidature from the presidential race and said he was supporting rival candidate Dullas Alahapperuma for the top post.
Sri Lanka’s economy is bracing for a sharp contraction due to the unavailability of basic inputs for production, an 80 per cent depreciation of the currency since March 2022, coupled with a lack of foreign reserves and the country’s failure to meet its international debt obligations.
Hundreds of Sri Lankans continue to queue up at petrol pumps across the debt-ridden country every day amid fuel shortage, and a large number of people are ditching their cars and motorcycles for bicycles for their daily commute. The economic crisis which is the worst in Sri Lanka’s history has prompted an acute shortage of essential items like fuel. (ANI)
Sri Lanka: Protesters gather outside Presidential Secretariat after Wickremesinghe gets elected as new President
Colombo [Sri Lanka], July 20 (ANI): Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on Wednesday after Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as Sri Lanka’s President.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elected as Sri Lanka’s new President said that he was “in a very difficult situation” and that he faces “big challenges ahead” to lead the country out of the dire economic crisis.
“The country is in a very difficult situation, we have big challenges ahead,” Wickremesinghe said after defeating main rival Dullus Alahapperuma, with 134 votes to 82 in the parliamentary vote to become President of the island nation.
Sri Lanka MPs voted Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new President following a secret ballot in Parliament. He received 134 votes. SLPP parliamentarian Dullas Alahaperuma received 82 votes while National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake received three votes. “The Secretary-General of Parliament announces to the House that Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the Succeeding President by Parliament,” the Sri Lankan Parliament tweeted. Wickremesinghe, who has served as Prime Minister six times, was among the forerunners for the President post.
After his official residence in the capital Colombo was stormed by tens of thousands of angry protesters last week, Sri Lanka’s ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had fled the country to Maldives before flying out to Singapore. Rajapaksa had offered his resignation after fleeing the country.
The main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa on Tuesday withdrew his candidature from the presidential race and said he was supporting rival candidate Dullas Alahapperuma for the top post.
Meanwhile, India today categorically denied media reports that New Delhi was making efforts at the political level to influence leaders in Sri Lanka regarding the Presidential polls.
“We have seen baseless and purely speculative media reports about efforts at the political level from India to influence political leaders in Sri Lanka regarding elections in the Sri Lankan Parliament to the post of the President of Sri Lanka,” the Indian High Commission tweeted.
While denying the false media reports, India also reiterated that it supports the realization of aspirations of the people of Sri Lanka in accordance with democratic means and values. The economy in Sri Lanka is bracing for a sharp contraction due to the unavailability of basic inputs for production, an 80 per cent depreciation of the currency since March 2022, coupled with a lack of foreign reserves and the country’s failure to meet its international debt obligations.
Hundreds of Sri Lankans continue to queue up at petrol pumps across the debt-ridden country every day amid fuel shortage, and a large number of people are ditching their cars and motorcycles for bicycles for their daily commute. (ANI)
