Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Thursday.
Colombo:
Sri Lanka’s new president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, will be sworn in on Friday in his cabinet, made up of members of the previous government, including Dinesh Gunewardena, who will become the next prime minister.
The previous cabinet will function until a national government is agreed upon once parliament meets and then a cabinet reshuffle will take place.
Wickremesinghe, 73, who was sworn in as the country’s eighth president on Thursday after winning a parliamentary vote, has called for bipartisanship to tackle the unprecedented economic crisis facing the country.
The House Leader in the Sri Lankan Parliament, 73-year-old Mr Gunewardena, will become the new Prime Minister. He was appointed as Interior Minister by then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in April.
A staunch lord of Sri Lankan politics, Gunawardena has also served as Foreign Minister and Education Minister.
Officials said Mr Wickremesinghe would try to form an all-party government to overcome the current economic crisis, the worst since the country’s independence in 1948.
Mr Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister, was elected by lawmakers on Wednesday, in a rare move that could ensure continuity for crucial talks with the IMF over a bailout package for the poor nation.
He will be mandated to serve the remainder of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s term, which ends in November 2024.
Meanwhile, a group of protesters who had camped opposite the prime minister’s official residence since late April said they would end the protest.
“There was a debate that we should respect the constitution and stop this protest,” a group spokesperson said.
However, the main protest group that had blocked access to the president’s office since April 9 said they would continue their fight until Mr Wickremesinghe resigned.
“Our victory would come only if we are able to form the Assembly,” said Lahiru Weerasekera, a spokesman for the group.
Ranil Wickremesinghe told reporters he plans to take legal action against those who continue to occupy the president’s office.
He said he would support the peaceful protesters but be tough on those who try to promote violence under the guise of peaceful protests.
Meanwhile, tense scenes were reported from the Galle Face protest site in the early hours of Friday after a large military contingent dived into the area.
Colombo’s Galle Face is the epicenter of protests that shook the country as the economic and political crisis hit Sri Lanka.
Troops were seen detaining individuals and also dismantling the protest site, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country on 9 July when a popular uprising over his poor handling of the economy delivered the final blow. After being detained since April despite massive protests, he resigned from exile in Singapore.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
