Wickremesinghe is Sri Lanka's new president
Add BT as a preferred source
DeeperDive is a beta AI feature. Refer to full articles for the facts.
SRI Lankan lawmakers voted acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new president on Wednesday (Jul 20) , hoping he would pull the country out of a crippling economic and political crisis.
“Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the eighth executive president under the constitution,” the secretary general of Parliament said after counting finished.
The win for Wickremesinghe, opposed by many ordinary Sri Lankans, could lead to more demonstrations by people furious with the ruling elite after months of severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines, several protesters have said.
The other main candidate, ruling party lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma, was more acceptable to the protesters and the opposition but did not have any top-level governance experience in a country with barely any dollars for imports and desperately in need of an IMF bailout.
The 225-member Parliament gave 134 votes to Wickremesinghe and 82 to Alahapperuma. A third candidate, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, got just three votes. REUTERS
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
TRENDING NOW
Shelving S$5 billion office redevelopment plan proved ‘wise’ as geopolitical risks mount: OCBC chairman
Why where you park your joint venture matters: Lessons from a US$689 million shareholder dispute
China pips the US if Asean is forced to choose, but analysts warn against reading it like a sports result
Singaporeans can now buy record amount of yen per Singdollar
