Sri Lanka to elect new President today; opposition leader's new appeal to India

The presidential election will be a three-way contest, with Rajapaksa's successor taking over a bankrupt country suffering from severe food and fuel shortages.

Team Newsable

Colombo, First Published Jul 20, 2022, 9:45 AM IST | Last Updated Jul 20, 2022, 9:49 AM IST

Sri Lanka's parliament will vote for a new president to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad last week amid security concerns after protesters barged into his official residence. The presidential election will be a three-way contest, with Rajapaksa's successor taking over a bankrupt country suffering from severe food and fuel shortages. As per analysts, acting President and six-time former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is the front-runner for the top job; however, protesters see him as a Rajapaksa ally.

Ahead of the Presidential election in Sri Lanka, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa has asked neighbouring India to continue supporting the island nation regardless of who is elected to the top post.

Last evening, Premadasa, the leader of Sri Lanka's Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya, tweeted, "Regardless of who becomes the President of Sri Lanka tomorrow, it is my humble and earnest request to Hon. PM Shri @narendramodi, to all the political parties of India, and to the people of India to continue helping mother Lanka and its people to come out of this disaster."

Sri Lanka is amidst a massive economic crisis, with its 22 million people facing severe food and fuel shortages, among other necessities.

Last week, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned after months of street protests over the crisis. Rajapaksa and his family, many of whom served in his administration, have been accused of mismanaging the country's economy, resulting in this massive crisis.

Analysts believe Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister who became acting President after his predecessor resigned, is the front-runner in the three-way race; however, he is despised by protesters who see him as a Rajapaksa ally.

In the election, his primary opponent will be SLPP dissident and former education minister Dullas Alahapperuma, a former journalist supported by the opposition. This week, Alahapperuma promised to form "the first actual consensual government in our history."

Premadasa dropped out of the presidential race in favour of Alahapperuma. He tweeted that his party will back former media minister Dullas Alahapperuma "for the greater good of my country that I love and the people I cherish."

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