Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been voted President of the crisis-hit nation by Sri Lankan parliamentarians, a decision that is certain to infuriate demonstrators who have been calling for his resignation for weeks.
Wickremesinghe, a key friend of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and a six-time former prime minister, won a parliamentary vote after his predecessor left the nation in the wake of unrest over the economy.
Wickremesinghe received 134 votes from a possible 223.
Addressing parliament shortly after the result on Wednesday, July 20 Wickremesinghe said while the country had been “divided on party lines” the “time has now come to work together.”
This comes after protesters set Wickremesinghe’s private residence on fire and overran the presidential palace in a desperate attempt to overthrow the government and end the economic crisis that has engulfed Sri Lanka since March.
The protesters appeared to have gotten their aim when Rajapaksa fled and Wickremesinghe the prime minister at the time vowed to resign to make way for a unity government.
Wickremesinghe’s appointment might inflame the already tense situation in the country with Even some members of his own ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna political party have said they disapproved of him taking the top job