Ranil Wickremesinghe became Sri Lanka's new president on Thursday after a secret vote in Parliament. The hitherto prime minister replaces Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country last week in the midst of a wave of demonstrations due to the economic crisis. Even so, his replacement does not have the approval of the population, which previously demanded his resignation, so it is very likely that his election will lead to new street demonstrations.
Wickremesinghe, who has been prime minister on up to six previous occasions but never president, won a clear victory in the secret vote held this morning (local time) in the island country. After the final count, the winner obtained 134 supports from among the 225 parliamentarians that make up the Chamber.
The majority of votes come from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party (SLPP), dominated by the Rajapaksa family clan, which has marked the country's political future in recent decades.
Dullas Alahapperuma, who also had the support of part of the SLPP and the opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, won 82 votes for his part, while the third candidate in the running, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, of the leftist NPP coalition, so He only got three supports.
At 73, Wickremesinghe has the arduous task ahead of him to pull the country out of its worst financial and institutional crisis since it gained independence in 1948. The country is mired in a deep economic crisis, with its national currency plummeting, runaway inflation and empty coffers of foreign exchange that have caused shortages of food, fuel and other essential goods.
In his first speech after his victory, Wickremesinghe urged all political parties to work together for the good of the country. “Our country is in an economic crisis and we have to introduce a new program. I especially ask Dullas and Anura Dissanayake, ”said the politician, who underlined his presence in the House for 45 years. “Now, the time for our divisions is over. I am ready to chat with all of you,” he added.
The politician will lead the country until November 2024, thus completing the mandate of the deposed Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the helm of a government that will have to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a possible financial rescue.
Wickremesinghe recently became prime minister of the government of the fled Gotabaya Rajapaksa, replacing the brother of the former leader, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was forced to leave his post on May 9 when his supporters attacked a group of protesters in the capital. Colombo.
Since then, the country has experienced continuous days of protests. Two weeks ago, protesters upped their ante by storming the president's official residence, which for days became a tourist attraction visited by thousands of citizens.
For his part, Rajapaksa fled via the Maldives to Singapore, from where he officially resigned last week, which automatically placed Wickremesinghe as interim president.
However, the parliamentary majority achieved by the politician will not be enough to appease some protesters who consider him an ally of the Rajapaksa and who have demanded his resignation since he became prime minister. For this reason, many of them have already announced new protests and demonstrations against them.
“The whole country did not want Ranil to be elected, because he is a person who has been rejected. He did not get to Parliament thanks to the vote of the Sri Lankans, but because Gotabaya Rajapaksa wanted to give him a chance, ”explained the Efe Rifas Mohamed Farook agency, one of the protesters in the Galle park camp in Colombo, epicenter of the protests.
"Now the majority (of the protesters) believes that we will not be able to leave, we have to protest more until he leaves" power, he added.
