Colombo, July 20: A week after people’s elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid massive public protests and protesters storming his house and office, the 225-member Sri Lankan Parliament on Wednesday elects Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new President.
All but two of Sri Lanka’s 225 MPs voted on Wednesday to elect the 8th President of the country to succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
G G Ponnambalam and Selvarajah Kajendram, both Tamils, didn’t cast their vote.
On behalf of the three candidates, MPs Harin Fernando, Dilan Perera, and Vijitha Herath observed the counting which began shortly after the voting concluded.
One MP, Samanpriya Herath, arrived from a hospital with a saline bottle attached to him to vote.
On Tuesday, three names, including acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Treasurer of Rajapaksa’s party Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (Sri Lanka People’s Alliance) Dullas Alahapperuma and Marxist party leader Anurua Kumara Dissanayake, were nominated but main contest was between Wickremesinghe and Alahapperuma as majority have opted to vote either of them.
Wickremesinghe has got the support of majority of SLPP which won 145 seats out of 225 at 2020 election while Dullas has garnered the support of another section of the same party and also the main opposition Samagi Janabalawegaya led by Sajith Premadasa who withdrew from the race.
With UNI Inputs…
