COLOMBO – Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as new president of embattled Sri Lanka after an unprecedented secret ballot was held in island nation’s parliament on Wednesday.
Wickremesinghe has been serving as acting president since last week after the then incumbent, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, escaped to Singapore after protesters stormed his official residence and office.
He has defeated the ruling-party lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma and leftist Janatha Vimukti Peramuna party’s Anura Kumara Dissanayaka in the election.
His win is likely to spark another wave of protests in the country as people are already furious due to his performance as prime minister.
Wickremesinghe, who joined the incumbent government as premier in May, has been stating that the economy had already collapsed when he came into power.
Sri Lanka’s economy has ‘completely collapsed’, says PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
The island has been facing the worst economic and political crisis for the first time since independence in 1948. Sri Lankans blamed the Rajapaksa family for the deepening financial crisis of the country.
State of emergency declared as Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa flees to Maldives
