Wickremesinghe will replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country and resigned after public anger over the country's worst economic crisis exploded on the streets 10 days ago. (File)
Acting President and veteran Sri Lanka politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President of Sri Lanka by Parliament Wednesday even as protesters on the street vowed to continue their Aragalaya (struggle) and reiterated their demand for his resignation, calling him an accomplice of the discredited Rajapaksa regime.
Wickremesinghe will replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country and resigned after public anger over the country’s worst economic crisis exploded on the streets 10 days ago. Indeed, the bulk of Wickremesinghe’s support came from the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party which witnessed a split within its ranks, but not enough to dent Wickremesinghe’s candidature. He defeated Dullas Alahapperuma, a rebel leader of the SLPP who was backed by the Opposition.
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In the 225-member House, Wickremesinghe got 134 votes, Alahapperuma got 82, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) got three votes.
In the House of 225, 113 seats were needed in favour of the candidate. But only 223 members cast their votes while two were not present; there were four invalid votes.
A six-time Prime Minister, Wickremesinghe is set to be sworn in Thursday at the parliamentary complex and faces a set of unprecedented economic challenges posed by a cash-strapped economy that needs to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund. In fact, Wickremesinghe has indicated that it’s the economy, not reforming the executive presidency, that is his main concern.
He tried to distance himself from the past in his first remarks after the election: “The people are not asking us for old politics. I request Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and other Opposition parties including former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena to work together.”
“We were divided for the last 48 hours. That period is now over. We have to work together now,” he added.
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Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo, Wednesday. (Reuters)
Wickremesinghe also requested the Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker to conduct the oath-taking ceremony within the Parliament premises. Significantly, the President’s Secretariat was one of the first official complexes to be breached by protesters and became a powerful symbol of the disconnect between the rulers and the people.
Aware of the mood on the street and Parliament, the Indian High Commission in Colombo reacted with a degree of caution. Without congratulating Wickremesinghe, its statement was matter-of-fact: “The Parliament of Sri Lanka, in exercise of the provisions of the Sri Lankan Constitution, has today elected H.E. Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President of Sri Lanka…As a close friend and neighbour of Sri Lanka and a fellow democracy, we will continue to be supportive of the quest of the people of Sri Lanka for stability and economic recovery, through democratic means and values, established democratic institutions and constitutional framework.”
New Delhi will now watch how President Wickremesinghe — much more powerful with his executive powers than his previous avatar as Prime Minister — handles the situation in the next few days while going about dealing with the protesters. A senior official said: “He faces very tough challenges…winning the election is one thing, getting the job done at a time lie this is his real test.” Wickremesinghe’s biggest challenge will be to tide over the economic crisis. From negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package to engaging with India, China, US, Japan and other international partners will be keenly watched in New Delhi.
Earlier in the day, the voting process was smooth and orderly and was broadcast live on Sri Lankan Parliament television. Former Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa and his son Namal Rajapaksa, who were in hiding for the last few days, came to Parliament and cast their votes. Later, when asked, Mahinda Rajapaksa said that the party had also put forward Dullas in a bid to display that he was not behind Ranil’s candidature.
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Wickremesinghe, who has previously lost two Presidential elections and even his MP seat, will be the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka. After his appointment, his Parliamentary seat will become vacant, which enables his United National Party (UNP) to appoint an MP through the party’s national list seat.
On the eve of the vote, Opposition leader and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate Sajith Premadasa had decided to withdraw from the presidential race and support Alahapperuma. Alahapperuma, who belongs to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s party SLPP and was information minister for mass media, had emerged as the Opposition’s candidate.
On the street, the resentment was palpable. Said Vraie Balthazar, 37, one of the protesters who gave speeches at the lawns of the President’s Secretariat: “Ranil is just an extension of Rajapaksa…we know his history. We want a new mandate, we want his resignation. Our peaceful protests will go on against Ranil Wickremesinghe and the corrupt system”.
Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More