Ranil Wickremesinghe wins Presidential election

Colombo, Jul 20: Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe won the Presidential election on Wednesday (Jul 20) after receiving 134 votes, amid the ongoing economic turmoil in the island nation. Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the new President following a vote in Sri Lankan Parliament.

 

 

 

 

Ranil Wickremesinghe received 134 votes that lead to his victory as the President of the crisis struck nation. SLPP parliamentarian Dullas Alahaperuma received 82 votes while National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake received three votes. Wickremesinghe, who has served as the Prime Minister of the island nation six times, was among the top for the Presidential election in which members of the House voted through a secret ballot.

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier, Wickremesinghe was appointed as the new president of Sri Lanka after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled abroad after his palace was stormed by angry protesters amid the unprecedented economic crisis. Sri Lankan Speaker said MPs were not allowed to bring mobile phones into the House, during the election after some party leaders had informed their MPs to take pics of their ballot papers. Earlier, Wickremesinghe was regarded as one of the top candidates.

 

However, the tables turned after Sri Lanka's main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday withdrew his candidature from the presidential race and said he was supporting rival candidate Dullas Alahapperuma for the top post. Premadasa took to Twitter to say that his party the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and its alliance and opposition partners will support Alahapperuma, an MP of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), who is in the fray for the upcoming presidential elections.