Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians have elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the island nation’s eighth president.
Legislators voted in a secret ballot on Wednesday on who would lead the country out of a deep political and economic crisis.
Wickremesinghe, 73, will serve the remainder of the term of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned by email last week.
The move is expected to lead to more protests, with demonstrators previously calling for Wickremesinghe to step down.
The economic crisis has left Sri Lanka’s 22 million people struggling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel and food.
In Sri Lanka, it has been one shock to the system after another, and the latest was a victory for anti-government protesters: On July 13, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.
For the protesters, it was a moment of great victory dampened by parliament electing Wickremesinghe, considered a close Rajapaksa ally, as the island nation’s eighth president.
SOURCE
ALJAZEERA NEWS
