Veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president, a day after winning the parliamentary vote, and urged the island nation to unite to find a way out of its worst economic crisis in decades.
Key points:
- President Wickremesinghe distanced himself from his unpopular predecessors
- Protesters remain skeptical and continue to call for a complete overhaul of Sri Lankan politics
- The country is facing serious financial problems with shortage of all major needs
The six-time prime minister succeeded Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled Sri Lanka and resigned last week after massive protests over his handling of the economy.
Hours after winning the parliamentary vote, Mr Wickremesinghe seemed to distance himself from the powerful Rajapaksa family that has dominated politics in Sri Lanka for decades.
“I am not a friend of the Rajapaksa. I am a friend of the people,” he told reporters after praying in a Buddhist temple in the commercial capital, Colombo.
The country of 22 million people has been paralyzed by a severe financial crisis, with a lack of foreign exchange leading to a shortage of commodities such as fuel, food and medicine.
Wickremesinghe, who previously served as prime minister and finance minister under Rajapaksa, has been involved in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package worth up to $ 3 billion ($ 4.4 billion).
Sri Lanka is also seeking help from neighboring India, China and other international partners.
Ongoing economic crisis
Sri Lanka recently received supplies of diesel and the state’s leading distributor, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, announced it would restart sales with a new rationing system.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa (right) and her brother, former president and opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, have become political outcasts in the country they ruled before. (Reuters: Dinuka Liyanawatte)
The protest movement that ousted Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s first incumbent president to step down, remained largely silent, despite Wickremesinghe’s unpopularity among some sections of the population.
The swearing-in ceremony of the new president was held in parliament and was presided over by the country’s chief justice.
Meanwhile, only a handful of people were present outside the presidential secretariat, the colonial-era building that was stormed by a sea of protesters earlier this month along with the official residences of the president and prime minister.
But some have vowed to fight President Wickremesinghe.
“We will not give up because what the country needs is a total change of the system,” a protester told the secretariat. “We want to get rid of these corrupt politicians, so that’s what we’re doing.”
ABC / Reuters
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