Wickremesinghe elected as new Sri Lankan president

Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the new president of Sri Lanka despite his unpopularity with the protestors.

Sri Lankan MPs have voted in favour of former prime minister and acting president Wickremesinghe as the eighth executive president under the constitution.

Three candidates participated in the presidential elections including Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara. Wickremesinghe got 134 votes whereas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara could get 82 and three votes respectively.

However, many Sri Lankans have already opposed Wickremesinghe as the new president. This could lead to more demonstrations by the already furious public after a severe shortage of fuel, food and medicines in the country.

According to media reports, Dullas Alahapperuma, the other candidate for president, was more acceptable to the protestors and opposition. However, Dullas Alahapperuma did not have any top-level governance experience.

Sri Lanka is desperately in need of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bail-out package to carry on its imports including fuel, food items and medicines.