Sri Lanka Crisis: Ranil Wickremesinghe Replaces Gotabaya Rajapaksa As New President; Know More About Him

Veteran Sri Lanka politician and acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the President of the island nation by the Parliament on July 10, while the protesters on the street pledged to continue their Aragalaya (struggle) and reinstated their call for his resignation; labelling him as an accomplice of the discredited Rajapaksa regime.

Wickremesinghe replaces outgoing Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled Sri Lanka and had handed in his resignation after public anger over the nation's worst economic crisis exploded on the streets over a week ago.

Member Of SLPP Party

Notably, the majority of Wickremesinghe's support came from the Rajapaksas' Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party, which saw a split within its reign; however, not big enough to dent Wickremesinghe's candidature. The 73-year-old defeated Dullas Alahapperuma, a rebel leader of the SLPP, who received the Opposition's backing, reported The Indian Express.

Wickremesinghe secured 134 votes out of the 225-member House, while Alahapperuma only got 82. Meanwhile, Leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's Anura Kumara Dissanayake got just three votes.

In the House of 225, 113 seats were required in favour of the candidate; however, a total of 223 members had cast their votes while two were not present; four were invalid.

What Are Wickremesinghe's Challenges?

Wickremesinghe, a six-time Sri Lankan Prime Minister, is sworn in on Thursday at the parliamentary complex and is expected to face unprecedented economic challenges posed by a cash-short economy in desperate need of negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Furthermore, the 72-year-old indicated that the economy, not reforming the executive presidency, is his primary concern.

In his first remarks after the election, he tried to distance himself from the past, he said, "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."

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