New Delhi: Amid the economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the new president of the island nation on Wednesday by a margin of 52 votes. Sri Lankan Parliament directly elected the new president in a three-way contest between acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Earlier, Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa was in the fray but later withdrew from the contest and proposed Alahapperuma, former media manager in the Rajapaksa government, for the top post.
Wickremesinghe, elected as the 8th president, led the contest by 134 votes followed by dissident ruling party leader Dullas Alahapperuma with 82 votes while leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake trailed with only 3 votes. As per a PTI report, the polling took place through a secret ballot amidst tight security in the wake of the simmering tensions in the island nation triggered by the unprecedented economic and political crisis.
After Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country with his wife to Maldives amid the crisis, Wickremesinghe was serving as the acting President of Sri Lanka.
223 parliamentarians participated in the polling process while 2 lawmakers abstained in the crucial election that took place earlier on Wednesday. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena was the first to vote. The two senior Rajapaksa brothers — Mahinda and Chamal — were also present during the voting.
The contest was on a close edge between Wickremesinghe and Alahapperuma as till Tuesday night a number of MPs pledged their support to the former while the latter had crucial backing from the Opposition parties as well as a majority of lawmakers from his parent party — Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).