Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka's president

COLOMBO: Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Thursday sworn in as Sri Lanka's president, exactly 45 years after he became an MP, amid hopes that he will rescue the bankrupt country and restore political stability.

Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister, was sworn in as the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka at the tightly-guarded parliament complex on Thursday before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.

Wickremesinghe, 73, took over as the Acting President after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapksa fled the country and resigned last week after months of mass anti-government protests.

The veteran leader was elected as Sri Lanka's President by the lawmakers on Wednesday. He secured 134 votes in the 225-member House while his nearest rival and dissident ruling party leader Dullas Alahapperuma got 82. Leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake got just three votes.

He faces the task of leading the country out of its economic collapse and restoring order after months of mass protests.

When he assumed the job of acting President last week, Wickremesinghe ordered the military to do whatever was necessary to restore public order, following protesters storming and occupying government buildings. The anti-government protesters, who succeeded to throw out the Rajapaksa family from all major government positions, are also demanding the resignation of Wickremesinghe.

He also extended a national state of emergency order this week to avert any flare-ups ahead of the presidential election in Parliament.

The new Cabinet will be appointed by President Wickremesinghe on Friday, as he aims to restore political stability so the country can resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package.

However it would be limited to the previous Cabinet members who already held positions when Wickremesinghe became the acting President upon the resignation of his predecessor Rajapaksa.

In his address to Parliament after his victory, Wickremesinghe said the nation was ''in a very difficult situation'' and there were ''big challenges ahead''.

''The people are not asking us for old politics,'' he said, urging the Opposition parties to join hands with him to take Sri Lanka out of the woods.

''We were divided for the last 48 hours. That period is now over. We have to work together now,” he said.

''Now that the election is over we have to end this division… From now on I am ready to have a dialogue with you,'' he said.

On Thursday, Sri Lanka's Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa met President Wickremesinghe and offered his party's constructive support to his government to avert further misery and disaster in the crisis-hit nation.

Wickremesinghe, who has been leading the crucial talks with the IMF, last week said that negotiations were nearing conclusion.

Sri Lanka needs about USD 5 billion in the next six months to cover basic necessities for its 22 million people, who have been struggling with long queues, worsening shortages and power cuts.

Wickremesinghe will have a mandate to serve out the rest of Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in November 2024.

It was 45 years ago on July 21, 1977 that Wickremesinghe contested an election to enter Parliament for the first time.

Wickremesinghe, who has been in Parliament for nearly five decades, was appointed as prime minister in May, nearly two years after his United National Party (UNP) was routed and failed to win a single seat in the general election held in 2020.

Widely accepted in political circles as a man who could manage the economy with far-sighted policies, Wickremesinghe is struggling to fix the economy which, he said, had collapsed at the time of his appointment in May.

Wickremesinghe, who is believed to be close to India and its leaders, has held many important posts during his career.

Wickremesinghe represented parliament continuously from 1977 until August 2020 when he failed to enter Parliament from the Colombo district. He made a return to Parliament in June 2021.

Wickremesinghe was unlucky with his attempts at the presidency. In 1999, he lost to Chandrika Kumaratunga in a close contest. A suicide bombing attempt by the LTTE separatists on Kumaratunga caused a wave of sympathy for her, destroying Wickremesinghe’s chances.

In 2005, he narrowly lost to Mahinda Rajapaksa due to an LTTE-led vote boycott among the Tamils.

Wickremesinghe has pledged to develop bipartisanship in his immediate task to tackle the economic hardships caused by the meltdown.

He has at all times maintained a good relationship with India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka twice during Wickremesinghe’s premiership from 2015-19.