ISLAMABAD, July 22 (Alliance News): Veteran politician Ranil Wickramasinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new president amid the worst economic crisis in its history.
According to foreign media, Ranil Wickramasinghe, a day after receiving the vote in the parliament, urged the nation of the peninsular country to show unity and solidarity to get out of the worst economic crisis in decades. .
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the country’s six-time prime minister, succeeds Gotabaya Rajapakse, who fled Sri Lanka after mass protests over his failure to manage the economy and resigned last week. had resigned.
The swearing-in ceremony was held in Parliament and the Chief Justice of the country presided over the ceremony.
Ranil Wickremesinghe will take over the presidency of the country of just over 20 million people at a time when the country is in dire straits of purchasing dollars and acute shortages of foodstuffs as well as fuel and medicine.
The Ministry of Power and Energy said Sri Lanka had received a fresh batch of diesel and the state-owned distributor, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, would resume sales under the new rationing system from Thursday. The protest movement that ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from power remained largely silent on Wickremesinghe’s election despite his unpopularity with the public.
There were only a handful of people outside the Presidential Secretariat, the colonial-era building that was stormed by a sea of protesters earlier this month from the official residences of the president and prime minister.
But a few protesters vowed to continue protesting against newly elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
A citizen among those who protested in front of the presidential secretariat said that we will not give up, the country needs a complete change of the system, we want to get rid of these corrupt politicians and that is why we are trying and protesting. are
Hours after winning a parliamentary vote, newly elected President Ranil Wickremesinghe appeared to distance himself from the powerful Rajapaksa dynasty that has dominated Sri Lankan politics for decades.
He was speaking to reporters after worshiping at the temple in the commercial capital of Colombo yesterday that he is not a friend of former President Gotabaya Rajapakse, I am a friend of the people of the country.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who previously served as prime minister and finance minister under Gotaya Rajapaksa, is himself negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IFF) for a bailout package of up to $3 billion for the country. And have been involved in discussions.
Suffering from an economic crisis, Sri Lanka is also seeking help from neighboring India, China and other global partners.
