Colombo, July 20 (BNA) Sri Lankan lawmakers have chosen six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president to succeed the ousted leader who fled the country in a vote that threatens to reignite political turmoil in the volatile South Asian island nation.
He said he has spent 45 years of his life in Parliament and is delighted that it has given him the honor of becoming president.
“I don’t need to tell you the situation of our country. Now that the elections are over, we have to end this division. We had 48 hours to remain divided, but from now on I am ready to have a dialogue with you,” he asked other political parties to work with him.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May, hoping to bring stability to a country mired in the worst economic crisis, the Associated Press reports.
Wickremesinghe became acting president after Rajapaksa fled the country last week and resigned by email.
Wickremesinghe is a seasoned politician with extensive experience in diplomatic and international affairs.
But he is unpopular with voters who view him as a follower of the Rajapaksa government.
A vote of 134 deputies helped Wickremesinghe lead over former cabinet minister Dulas Alahabruma, who received 82 votes, and the Marxist candidate with three.
Wickremesinghe will serve the remainder of Rajapaksa state, which ends in 2024.
Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned via email last week after protesters angry at the country’s economic collapse stormed his official residence and took over key government buildings.
Wickremesinghe now has the discretion to appoint a new prime minister.
The economic crisis has left Sri Lanka’s 22 million people short of necessities including medicine, fuel and food while the government negotiates a rescue plan with the International Monetary Fund. The resulting political crisis has left concerns about whether the new government will be enough to reform the economy and appease a public angry at the politicians’ failures.
Only a few lawmakers have said publicly that they would vote for Wickremesinghe given the hostility against him.
Dozens of lawmakers loyal to Rajapaksa, whose homes were burned down by protesters in May, were said to support Wickremesinghe by assuring he would severely punish the perpetrators and maintain law and order.
All 225 members of Parliament including the Speaker of the House of Representatives were eligible to vote on the arranged ballot. Two members abstained from voting and some ballot papers were declared invalid.
ZHB