Ranil Wickremesinghe, interim president of Sri Lanka after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled since his palace was stormed by mobs last week, has just been elected president by parliament by an overwhelming majority. Six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe won 134 votes, according to official results, against 82 for his main opponent Dullas Alahapperuma and just three for left-wing candidate Anura Dissanayake.
Although those first words were to affirm that the divisions in the country were “over”, the 73-year-old new strongman of the country inherits a country of 22 million people ravaged by a catastrophic economic crisis which is causing shortages of food, medicine and fuel. The island, which defaulted in April on its foreign debt of 51 billion dollars, does not even have enough foreign currency to finance its essential imports, and hopes for a rescue plan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Candidate of “law and order”
At the same time and while the state of emergency has been extended, the new president will have to find solutions to restore calm in the country. In recent days, thousands of students have demonstrated against the man who has already been Prime Minister six times. They consider him an ally and protector of the Rajapaksa clan. “We are not afraid of Ranil,” said Wasantha Mudalige, a student leader, adding, “We will drive him out like we did Gotabaya.”
However for his support in parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was the candidate of “law and order”. His early decisions in restoring some gas services were well received by the middle class in the country. But observers in the country now expect protests to be cracked down more harshly.