Colombo (Sri Lanka)- Sri Lankan lawmakers chose six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president Wednesday to succeed the ousted leader who fled the country in a vote that risks reigniting political turmoil in the troubled South Asian island nation.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May, hoping to bring stability to a country engulfed in its worst economic crisis. Wickremesinghe became acting president after Rajapaksa fled the country last week and resigned by email.
Wickremesinghe, 73, is a seasoned politician with vast experience in diplomatic and international affairs. He has been leading crucial talks on an economic bailout package with the International Monetary Fund and was backed by members of the fragmented ruling coalition. But he is unpopular among voters who view him as a holdover from Rajapaksa’s government.
The vote of 134 lawmakers put Wickremesinghe ahead of former government minister Dullas Alahapperuma, who received 82 votes. The Marxist candidate had three.
The public elects presidents typically in Sri Lanka. The responsibility falls on Parliament only if the president’s office becomes vacant before a term ends.
That has happened only once in Sri Lanka when then-Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was chosen by Parliament uncontested in 1993 after former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, father of the current opposition leader, was assassinated.
The economic crisis has left Sri Lanka’s 22 million people struggling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel and food, while the government negotiates a bailout with the International Monetary Fund. And the resulting political crisis has left worries about whether a new government will be enough to fix the economy and alleviate a public furious at its politicians’ failures.
Students and political activists held small protests Tuesday demanding Wickremesinghe step down before they force him to. Some intimidating posts on social media warned lawmakers against returning to their constituencies if they vote for Wickremesinghe.