WATCH: Unhappy Sri Lankans protest, raise slogans after Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as new president

Colombo: Moment Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the new president of economic crisis-hit Sri Lanka, protesters congregated in large number outside the Presidential Secretariat and began agitating and sloganeering.

Wickremesinghe’s elevation as President after overwhelming victory in the Sri Lanka parliament is being strongly opposed by many people of the island nation.

Wickremesinghe, who has been prime minister six times, was voted by MPs as the new President of Sri Lanka in an unprecedented secret ballot.

It is worth mentioning that the voting for the presidential polls come after agitators forces Rajapaksa from office amid anger over a spiraling economic crisis. Wickremesinghe was sworn-in as acting president on 13 July after President Rajapaksa fled from Sri Lanka.

Must Read: Ranil Wickremesinghe: From six-time prime minister to new president of Sri Lanka

Wickremesinghe, 73-year-old Sri Lankan politician, has long held aspirations to be the president of the island nation. In the past, he has lost a presidential election, but has occupied the prime minister — though never once completed a full term in office.

Notably, a tough road lies ahead of Wickremesinghe as Sri Lanka continues to be crippled by the economic crisis. More demonstrations and protests are expected by Sri Lankans who have been facing acute shortage of fuel, food, and medicines.

Big challenges ahead, says Wickremesinghe

Addressing the Parliament, soon after winning the Sri Lankan Presidential election, Wickremesinghe said, “The country is in a very difficult situation, we have big challenges ahead.”

Sri Lanka protest. ANI

“I need not tell you the status our country is in. Now that the election is over we have to end this division. We had 48 hours to stay divided but from now on I am ready to have a dialog with you,” Wickremesinghe said, asking other political parties to cooperate and work with him.

How many votes did Ranil Wickremesinghe get?

Ranil Wickremesinghe secured 134 votes in the 225-member House, while his nearest rival and dissident ruling party leader Dullas Alahapperuma got 82.

Leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake managed to get mere three votes.

Wickremesinghe thanked the Sri Lanka Parliament for upholding democratic practices and went on to seek support from both the presidential rivals, former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena and even asked Tamil leaders to join him.

Sri Lanka protest. ANI

For the uninitiated, Wickremesinghe is widely accepted in political circles as a man who could manage the economy with far-sighted policies. However, he has been struggling to fix the economy which, he said, had collapsed at the time of his appointment as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in May this year.

First time in 44 years, Sri Lanka Parliament directly elects President

Today was the the first time ever in 44 years that Sri Lanka’s Parliament has directly elected a president. Presidential elections in 1982, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2019 had elected them by popular vote.

The last and the only time when the presidency in Sri Lanka became vacant mid-term was in 1993 when president Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated.

With inputs from agencies

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