Ranil Wickremesinghe will take his oath as President of Sri Lanka at the parliament complex on Thursday, following his victory in a parliament vote to select the South Asian country’s next president.
Wickremesinghe will be sworn in on Thursday morning and will name a new prime minister later that day, according to sources from the President’s office.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe thanked the three armed forces and the police for their assistance in the protection of the Parliament in recent days, according to a release from the President’s Media Division.
Wickremesinghe also expressed gratitude to all those who devoted themselves to defending the country’s democracy, according to the announcement.
Ranil Wickremesinghe gained 134 votes in parliament following the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week amid significant economic upheaval in the country.
Wickremesinghe addressed the house shortly after winning the secret ballot vote, asking on all lawmakers, including opposition MPs, to unite and work with him to bring Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.
“We are at a critical juncture. There is an economic crisis and the youth want a system change. People want all parliamentarians to come together,” said Wickremesinghe.
A total of 223 lawmakers voted to elect a new president, with four invalid votes. Another two candidates, MP Dullas Alahapperuma of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party and National People’s Power leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake, received 82 and three votes, respectively.
Wickremesinghe is hardly a fresh name in politics, having previously served as the island nation’s Prime Minister six times. He was a leading candidate in the presidential election in which members of the House voted secretly.
Previously, Wickremesinghe was selected as Sri Lanka’s temporary president when Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled overseas after his palace was invaded by irate demonstrators during the country’s severe economic crisis.
