Image source: ndtv.com
Updates on the Presidential Election in Sri Lanka: Ranil Wickremesinghe, a former six-time prime minister, was elected as the new president of crisis-stricken Sri Lanka by the country’s parliament on Wednesday, with the backing of the party of the former leader, who fled the country after protesters stormed his palace. Wickremesinghe came in third place with 134 votes, according to the official tally of a three-cornered parliamentary vote, with his primary opponent, the leftist candidate Anura Dissanayake receiving only three votes. In contrast, Dullas Alahapperuma received 82, giving him an absolute majority of voters’ first preferences.
“Our divisions are now over,” Wickremesinghe said in a brief acceptance speech in parliament, inviting Alahapperuma “to join me and work together to bring the country out of the crisis we are facing”. He stated that he hoped to be sworn in later Wednesday in a simple ceremony inside the heavily guarded parliament building.
The 73-year-old takes over a bankrupt country in IMF bailout talks, with its 22 million people facing severe food, fuel, and medicine shortages. However, he is despised by the protesters who drove his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, out of his palace after months of protests over an unprecedented economic crisis as an ally of the former leader.
The Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party backed Wickremesinghe. Wickremesinghe pledged to crack down if protesters took to the streets, but there were no signs of demonstrators. A fuel shortage, rising global food prices, and erratic climate patterns have created a crisis with no easy solution. Sri Lanka may be unique in that rage at a failing elite has been matched by generosity and ingenuity to prevent collapse and anarchy.
They are still functioning hospitals. Even less often, garbage trucks still roam the city’s streets. The country depends on donors, lenders, and anyone with money to help. Earlier, India’s top diplomat met with Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister, signaling New Delhi’s willingness to provide more than the USD 4 billion in loans, swaps, and aid it has already given. No other country has provided as much food, fuel, medicine, and other essentials to Sri Lanka as India.
Wednesday’s vote includes 225 parliamentarians. A candidate wins outright with more than half the preferential vote. Wickremesinghe, Dullas Alahapperuma, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake are running. Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister, and acting president after his predecessor resigned is the frontrunner, but protesters dislike him as a Rajapaksa ally.
