Sri Lanka: Parliament to elect new president today
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is currently interim president, has been nominated for the role by the ruling party and is being seen as the frontrunner.
Colombo: Sri Lankan MPs are set to vote on Wednesday to elect a new president after former president Gotabaya Rajapakse fled the country and quit amid protests over the country’s economic crisis, BBC reported.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is currently interim president, has been nominated for the role by the ruling party and is being seen as the frontrunner.
However, along with the Rajapakse’s Wickremesinghe too has been the target of the protesters wrath who want him to go as well.
Wickremesinghe faces a strong challenge from Dullas Alahapperuma, a dissident ruling party MP backed by the main opposition.
Whoever is elected by parliament will have a mandate to serve out the rest of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in November 2024.
Sri Lanka is effectively bankrupt and facing acute shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies and therefore, the country needs a stable government to continue stalled negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.
Rajapaksa’s administration and family, which has ruled the country for nearly two decades, have been blamed for the current crisis.
He fled to the Maldives last week after crowds took over government buildings, demanding political leaders – including Mr Wickremesinghe – step down. Mr Rajapaksa then flew to Singapore and officially resigned late on Thursday.
