Prime Minister Ranil Vikram Singhwas sworn in as E Sri Lankaof the interim President until the election of the successor of Parliament on Friday Gotabaya Rajapaksawho resigned after massive protests over the country’s economic collapse, forced him out of office.
The speaker of Sri Lanka’s parliament said lawmakers would convene on Saturday to choose a new leader after Rajapaksa resigned, effective Thursday. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abhaywardhan said his choice would serve the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in 2024.
He promised a fast and transparent process which should be completed within a week.
The new President can appoint a new Prime Minister, who will then have to be approved by Parliament. Wickremesinghe was under increasing pressure due to Rajapaksa’s dismissal.
In this photo provided by the Office of the President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe is sworn in as interim President on Friday, July 15, 2022 in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
AP. Via Sri Lankan President’s Office
In a televised statement, Wickremesinghe said he would take steps to curtail the president’s powers and change the constitution to strengthen parliament, restore law and order and take legal action against “rebels”.
Referring to the clashes that took place near Parliament on Wednesday night, Wickremesinghe said true protesters would not indulge in such actions.
“There is a big difference between the protesters and the rebels. We will take legal action against the militants.”
Wickremesinghe became the acting president on Wednesday after Rajapaksa flew first from Sri Lanka to the Maldives and then to Singapore. The Prime Minister’s Office said that Wickremesinghe was sworn in as interim President on Friday before Chief Justice Jayanta Jayasuriya.
Sri Lanka lacks funds to pay for imports of basic necessities such as food, fertilisers, medicine and fuel, leaving its 22 million people frustrated. Its rapid economic decline has been even more shocking, because before this crisis, the economy was expanding, with a growing, comfortable middle class.
Protest leader Jeevant Peiris, a Catholic priest, said he was “delighted because we have gone through a difficult journey.”
“We are delighted as a collective effort as all Sri Lankan citizens, even Sri Lankan expatriates, participated in this Sri Lankan conflict,” he said.
Following Rajapaksa’s resignation, demonstrators cooked and distributed milk rice – a meal that Sri Lankans celebrate as they celebrate victory. His resignation was welcomed by people at the main protest site in front of the President’s office in Colombo but insisted that Wickremesinghe should also step down.
“I am glad that Gotabaya is finally gone. He should have resigned earlier, without creating much problem,” said Velyuthan Pillai, a retired bank employee, as patriotic songs were playing through loudspeakers.
But he added that “Ranil Gotabaya and others are supporters of Rajapaksa. He was helping them. He should go too.”
Peace prevailed again in the capital on Thursday after protesters who occupied government buildings withdrew on Thursday. But with political opposition breaking out in parliament, a solution to many of Sri Lanka’s woes did not seem near.
The country remains a powder keg, and the military warned Thursday it has powers to respond in case of chaos – a message some found ominous.
The Speaker of Parliament, Abhay Vardhan urged the public to “create a peaceful environment for the implementation of proper parliamentary democratic process and to enable all members of Parliament to attend meetings and act freely and honestly”.
Wickremesinghe recently said that Sri Lanka is seeking help from the International Monetary Fund and other creditors, but its financial position is so bad that even obtaining a bailout has proved difficult.
Protesters accused Rajapaksa and his powerful political family of extorting money from the state exchequer and hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied allegations of corruption, but Rajapaksa acknowledged that some of his policies contributed to Sri Lanka’s recession.
Maduka Eroshan, 26, a university student and protester, said he was “thrilled” that Rajapaksa resigned, as he “ruined the dreams of the younger generation.”
Protests peaked last weekend when protesters stormed the President’s home and office and Wickremesinghe’s official residence. On Wednesday, they seized his office.
Images of protesters resting on elegant sofas and beds inside buildings, posing at officers’ desks and touring grand settings _ captured the world’s attention.
Protesters had initially vowed to stay until a new government was formed, but they changed tactics on Thursday, apparently worried that an escalation in violence could undermine their message after clashes outside parliament that left dozens injured Were.
Protester Mirak Rahim said the lack of violence was important, though his work was not over.
“It is really surprising, the fact that this happened on the back of largely peaceful protests,” Rahim said. “But obviously this is just the beginning, that is a long journey in terms of the kind of work to be done, not only to rebuild the economy but to build public confidence in this political system.”
The protests marked the dramatic fall of Rajapaksa’s political clan, which has ruled Sri Lanka over the past two decades.
Rajapaksa and his wife slipped on board a military plane early Wednesday. On Thursday, he had visited Singapore, according to the city-state’s foreign ministry. It said he had not requested asylum and it was not clear whether he would stay or move on. He has previously received medical services there, including heart surgery.
Since Sri Lanka’s president is protected from arrest while in power, Rajapaksa likely wanted to leave while he still had constitutional immunity and access to aircraft.
A military strategist whose brutal campaign helped end the country’s 26-year civil war, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, who was then president, were respected by the island’s Buddhist Sinhalese majority. Despite allegations of wartime atrocities, including ordering military attacks on ethnic Tamil civilians and the kidnapping of journalists, Rajapaksa remained popular among many Sri Lankans. He has consistently denied the allegations.
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