Three politicians, including the current interim president of Sri Lanka and former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, presented a candidacy for the leadership of the country on Tuesday, which will be decided by parliament on Wednesdayin secret ballot.
The Sri Lankan parliament announced that, in addition to Wickremesinghe, two other deputies are in the candidacy: former minister Dullas Alahapperuma, from the SLPP, a party that supported former head of state Gotabaya Rajapaksa; and Anura Kumara Dissanayake from the leftist PNP coalition.
Another potential candidate, the main opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, announced on the social network twitterminutes before the official opening of the candidacies, the withdrawal in favor of Dullas Alahapperuma, “for the greater good” of Sri Lanka.
For the greater good of my country that I love and the people that I hold dear, I hereby withdraw my candidacy for the office of President. @sjbsrilanka and our alliance and our opposition partners will work hard to make @DullasOfficial victorious.
— Sajith Premadasa (@sajithpremadasa) July 19, 2022
Wickremesinghe’s candidacy was met with surprise as, despite having been supported by the SLPP, the interim president had said he would not run.
Wickremesinghe’s possible appointment had been criticized for continuing the Rajapaksa government and opening the door to a possible return of the president, who resigned on Friday after fleeing to the Maldives and then Singapore.
After fleeing to Singapore, Sri Lankan president resigns by email
The political opposition and protesters accuse the Rajapaksa family, which dominated the island’s political life for decades, of embezzling public funds and blame the measures imposed by the head of state for causing the country’s economic collapse.
Students and political activists said they planned protests for Tuesday in the capital Colombo, where entrances to parliament are blocked, with the building protected by hundreds of soldiers.
The vote, which will be held in secret by the 225 legislators that make up the Sri Lankan parliament, will take place on Wednesday at 10:00 am (5:30 am in Lisbon).
Also this Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka will decide decide on the legality of Wickremesinghe’s appointment as interim presidentlast week, by the leader of parliament.
If the appointment is found to be illegal, Wickremesinghe could no longer be eligible to run for president.
Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency on Monday, giving him broad authority to quell further protests, which have dragged on for more than 100 days.
The current political crisis in Sri Lanka is due to the worst economic crisis the country has experienced since independence from the British Empire in 1948.
the political impasse further threatens the economic and financial situation of the country and the lack of a governmental alternative may further delay the intervention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
the country already flaw and it has an external debt of more than 50,000 million euros, which analysts have already considered “unpayable”.
The shortage of basic necessities has worsened the situation of the country’s population of 22 million inhabitants.
Source: Observadora
