Protests in Lanka against the economic crisis have been simmering for months and erupted last weekend.
COLOMBO:
A six-term prime minister, leader of the main opposition party and a journalist transitioning from the ruling party are vying to become Sri Lanka’s next president, after incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country in this week.
Sri Lanka’s parliament speaker will convene the legislature after receiving Rajapaksa’s formal resignation and its 225 members will vote to elect a new president, possibly next week.
The winning candidate must secure a simple majority in parliament, but also gain the confidence of the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans who have joined the protest movement – known as “Aragalaya”. or the “struggle” in Sinhala – leading to Rajapaksa’s overthrow. .
PRIME MINISTER
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took office as prime minister for the sixth time in May and has been named acting president, is among the top job aspirants, two political sources said.
Sources say that although Wickremesinghe’s party holds only one seat in parliament, parts of Sri Lanka’s ruling party Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), including the president’s brother Basil Rajapaksa, are backing him.
An SLPP official said that party members felt Wickremesinghe – who is also the country’s finance minister – had a good handle on the economic challenges facing Sri Lanka.
Wickremesinghe has been involved in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout and a new budget.
But the 73-year-old politician remains unpopular with many protesters, hundreds of whom clashed with security forces and occupied his office this week.
LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP
Sajith Premadasa, 55, leader of the main opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), is another contender in the fight. But with only about 50 lawmakers in parliament, he will need to build bipartisan support to stand a chance.
Premadasa studied at the London School of Economics and entered politics after his father, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, was assassinated in a 1993 suicide bombing.
He entered parliament in 2000, then served as Sri Lanka’s Deputy Health Minister. In 2018, he was appointed Minister of Housing Construction and Cultural Affairs.
“The SJB parliamentary group voted to nominate Sajith Premadasa because he deeply understands the suffering of the people and always supports their call for change,” said Eran Wickramaratne, a senior member of SJB who also has built a bond with Aragalaya said. protest movement.
“This government has clearly lost its mandate and it is time for us to listen to the people,” Wickramaratne said.
JOURNEY OF FORMATION
The third frontrunner and potential black horse is Dullas Alahapperuma, a senior lawmaker from the SLPP who has attracted the attention of a section of his party colleagues.
The ruling party has about 117 votes that can be used to choose a candidate like the 63-year-old former journalist and send him across the line, SLPP lawmaker Charitha Herath said.
Alahapperuma, who entered parliament in 1994, served as minister of mass communications and cabinet spokesman but resigned in April when President Rajapaksa dissolved the cabinet after protesters surrounded his residence. .
“I am a pragmatist. We need a candidate that is acceptable to Aragalaya and the larger public but one who can also get the approval of MPs,” Herath said.
“It’s not easy to find someone like that,” he said. “Dullas would be a formidable and practical choice.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
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