Sri Lanka: Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as 9th President

Veteran Sri Lankan politician and six-time Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the 9th President of the Island nation by the Parliament. He secured 134 votes in the presidential election by the 225-member parliament. The 73-year-old Wickremesinghe will serve the remaining term of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which ends in 2024.

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Why does this happen?

• Wickremesinghe will replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country and resigned after public anger over the country’s worst economic crisis exploded on the streets 10 days ago.
• Indeed, the bulk of Wickremesinghe’s support came from the Rajapaksas’ Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party which witnessed a split within its ranks, but not enough to dent Wickremesinghe’s candidature.
• He defeated Dullas Alahapperuma, a rebel leader of the SLPP who was backed by the Opposition. Wickremesinghe, who has previously lost two Presidential elections and even his MP seat, will be the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka.

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