In preparation for the July 20 parliamentary vote to pick a new president, acting President Wickremesinghe has declared Sri Lanka an emergency.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the country’s acting president, extended the state of emergency on Monday in advance of a legislative vote to elect a new leader of the state, in which he is the front-runner. When Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned last week after running away to Singapore, Ranil Wickremesinghe was immediately elevated to the position of interim president.
A government notification issued late on Sunday stated that the action was necessary for maintaining supplies and services that were vital to the community’s daily operations as well as public safety and order. Wickremesinghe proclaimed a state of emergency last week after the country’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled a popular uprising against his administration.
It wasn’t clear if Wickremesinghe had issued a new directive as acting president after assuming office on July 15 or whether the previous order had been cancelled, expired, or all three. A Wickremesinghe office representative declined Reuters’ request for a response.
The government has not yet made public the full legal criteria of the most recent emergency, but in the past, the military has been dispatched under emergency legislation to conduct arrests, imprison people, search private property, and put a stop to public rallies.
State Emergency
On Monday morning, Colombo, the country’s commercial centre, was calm with both automobiles and pedestrians using the streets. According to Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives, declaring a state of emergency is becoming more and more common for the government to do. According to Fonseka, this has already been proved to be ineffective.
Rajapaksa’s resignation was accepted by the parliament on Friday. He took a trip to the Maldives and then to Singapore after tens of thousands of anti-government protesters overran his official residence and offices in Colombo a week earlier. A supply of fuel came on Saturday to assist the nation in its hour of need as Sri Lanka’s parliament met to begin the process of electing a new president.
Wickremesinghe, a Rajapaksa supporter, was selected by the ruling party to run for president, but if he is elected, there may be further unrest because protesters also want him removed. Wickremesinghe was formally designated interim president on Friday after serving as acting president since last Wednesday. The news was met with anger on Colombo’s streets.
Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister six times, is charged with shielding the Rajapaksa family dynasty from allegations of corruption for years and helping them seize power once more.
Many thought Rajapaksa’s decision two months earlier to accept the position of caretaker prime minister was the reason he was able to hold onto power for several more weeks than he otherwise would have.
Several public outrages have been directed towards Wickremesinghe, including the burning down of his home and the Wednesday protester invasion of his offices.
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
Wickremesinghe will be the candidate for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the party that held the majority of seats in parliament and was in power under the Rajapaksas. He stands a good chance of being elected following the MPs’ vote in parliament, which is anticipated to occur next Tuesday or Wednesday.
The SLPP appeared to be divided on Wickremesinghe’s nomination. The party’s chair, GL Peiris, expressed “amazement and extreme astonishment” in a letter to the general secretary of the party in response to the declaration that Wickremesinghe would be the party’s presidential candidate.
Sajith Premadasa, the head of the opposition, who has vowed to avert “an elected dictatorship from emerging” and punish those responsible for “looting the country,” as well as another SLPP official called Dullas Alahapperuma, have the potential to divide the vote in favour of the incumbent party. In the 2019 presidential election, Wickremesinghe will face these rivals. An other candidate is former army leader Sarath Fonseka.
Sri Lanka Emergency
