Sri Lanka's prime minister has been elected president by lawmakers who opted for a seasoned, veteran leader to lead the country out of economic collapse
ByThe Associated Press
July 20, 2022, 4:42 PM
FILE - Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe gestures during an interview with The Associated Press in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, June 11, 2022. Sri Lanka’s prime minister and acting presi...Show moreThe Associated Press
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Sri Lanka’s prime minister was elected president Wednesday by lawmakers who opted for a seasoned, veteran leader to lead the country out of economic collapse, despite widespread public opposition.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, an ally of ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa whose term he is finishing after he fled the country and resigned, urged fellow lawmakers to unite in saving the nation.
“People are not expecting the old politics from us, they expect us to work together,” he told Parliament.
But he is a divisive figure, unpopular among a public fed up with shortages of food, fuel and medicine, and critics question whether he can muster the political heft and public support to get the job done.
Wickremesinghe was appointed prime minister by Rajapaksa in May after angry protests forced Rajapaksa's brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to step down and seek refuge in a naval base. Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka earlier this month, submitting his resignation by email, and Wickremesinghe became acting president ahead of Wednesday's vote, as well as prime minister and finance minister.
He then quickly declared a state of emergency after protesters stormed the presidential palace and several other government buildings last week. That gave him broad powers to act in the interest of public security and order, enabling the authorities to carry out searches and detain people. Wickremesinghe was also empowered to change or suspend any law.
At 73, Wickremesinghe has had six terms as prime minister. Rajapaksa chose him as he tried to restore Sri Lanka's credibility after it stopped making payments on its $51 billion in foreign debt.
As protests raged, he became the public face of the crisis, delivering weekly addresses in Parliament, raising taxes and pledging to overhaul a government that had increasingly concentrated power under the presidency, helping to tip the country into crisis. He has been leading negotiations on a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund.
Opponents have accused Wickremesinghe of protecting the Rajapaksa family, who are widely blamed for leading the nation into ruin, from allegations of corruption and other wrongdoing.
Just days before lawmakers elected him president, protesters took over Wickremesinghe’s office compound demanding that he resign. His private residence was burned down.