Sri Lanka’s Parliament this Wednesday elected a new President: Ranil Wickremesinghe, the country’s Prime Minister and one of the politicians singled out during the popular revolt that caused the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week. After Rajapaksa’s flight to Singapore and his subsequent resignation, Wickremesinghe was sworn in as interim president. However, Parliament had to elect a new President to change course in a country struggling in the worst economic crisis since independence from the UK in 1948. Hundreds of thousands of citizens left the former President after the 9 July storming of the Presidential Palace caused escape.
The election of Wickremesinghe does not bode well for a return to calm. The camp, which has been located in Galle Force Park on the Colombo coast since last April, has called for the departure of President Rajapaksa, whom the protesters accuse of profiting at their expense but also that of his Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. After the historic attack on the palace, both announced that they would leave office before Wednesday, July 13, but they did not keep their promise. That day, protesters occupied the prime minister’s offices for a few hours, leaving images for history, while young protesters walked through the colonial palace under the eyes of the military.
If Gota go home (for Gotabaya, the former President’s first name) was the motto of the protests and the only element uniting the protesters, another demand was soon added: the departure of Wickremesinghe, a veteran Sri Lankan politician whom they regarded as an ally regard . of the Rajapaksa and who also blame them for the disastrous economic management that has bankrupted the country. Intensification of protests led to Rajapaksa’s renunciation of his brother Mahinda as prime minister in May. Then Wickremesinghe took over.
In the parliamentary vote this Wednesday, the new president received 134 votes (out of a total of 225) against his main rival Dullas Alahapperuma. The President has garnered the majority support of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party (SLPP), which enjoys a large majority thanks to Rajapaksa’s landslide victory in the 2019 election. The formation has always sought to privilege the Sinhalese and Buddhist majority against the Tamil and Muslim minorities . The popular uprising united, albeit temporarily, all ethnic groups and religions around the same goal: oust the president.
“We are facing great challenges”
The new president must now resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $3,000 million cash injection. It will also continue to seek help from China, one of its main creditors, to get back on the path to economic recovery. The lack of foreign exchange – partly motivated by the decline in tourism – has left Sri Lanka unable to import basic necessities such as fuel, leading to widespread social unrest.
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Wickremesinghe, a 73-year-old lawyer who has served as prime minister six times, is confident his seniority, business experience and strong ties with China and India will help the country move forward. “Our country faces great challenges and we must work on a new strategy to meet people’s aspirations,” he said in a conciliatory message collected by R agency after the win. The mandate officially ends in 2024, but it is not yet known how the population that staged the protests will react to this Wednesday’s election.
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