Sri Lanka: Backed by Rajapaksas' party, six-time PM Ranil Wickremesinghe becomes president

New Delhi: Sri Lankan lawmakers on Wednesday elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country's president.

Official results showed Wickremesinghe polled 134 votes in a three-cornered parliamentary vote, with his main opponent Dullas Alahapperuma getting 82 and leftist Anura Dissanayake just three -- giving him an absolute majority on first preferences.

223 Members of Parliament had voted, while 2 MPs abstained. 219 votes were counted as valid while 4 votes were declared invalid.

Wickremesinghe was backed by the Rajapaksas' SLPP, the largest bloc in the 225-member parliament, in the election. He is the sole MP from his own party UNP.

"Our divisions are now over," Wickremesinghe said in a brief acceptance speech in parliament, inviting Alahapperuma "to join me and work together to bring the country out of the crisis we are facing".

He said he hoped to be sworn in later Wednesday at a simple ceremony within the tightly guarded parliament building.

Lobbying had intensified ahead of the vote. Two smaller parties pledged their support to Alahapperuma, while a Tamil party with two votes said they were switching sides to support Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe became acting president after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the crisis-hit country and resigned last week.

What's next for the new president

With the elevation of the 73-year-old to the top job, the current cabinet automatically stands dissolved and he will choose a prime minister to form a new cabinet.

The 73-year-old will take full-time charge of a bankrupt nation that is in talks with the IMF for a bailout, with its 22 million people enduring severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.

Sri Lanka ran out of foreign exchange to finance even the most vital imports in a crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic but exacerbated by mismanagement, critics say.

Protesters demanded Wickremesinghe's resignation

Notably, the veteran politician was in the eye of the storm when unprecedented protests rocked Sri Lanka earlier this month. Demonstrators demanded both Wickremesinghe and Rajapaksa's resignation. Protesters had torched his private residence and stormed the PM office in Colombo. Wickremesinghe was appointed as the PM by Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He continues to serve as the prime minister.

With inputs from agencies

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