Sri Lanka .. Parliament begins voting to elect the new president

Sri Lanka’s parliament began voting on Wednesday to choose a new president from among three candidates to succeed Gotapa Rajapaksa, who fled the country after angry mobs stormed the presidential palace last week.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who currently holds the acting presidency, is the favorite to win the secret vote in the 225-member parliament. He will take over the presidency of Sri Lanka until the end of Rajapaksa’s current term in November 2024.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the presidential palace after angry crowds stormed it on the ninth of July and took refuge in the Maldives and from there to Singapore, where he announced his resignation.

Thousands of students demonstrated on Tuesday afternoon in the capital, Colombo, to protest against Wickremesinghe, 73, who has served as prime minister six times. They consider him an ally and protector of the Rajapaksa family.

As acting president, Wickremesinghe extended a state of emergency that gives police and security forces greater powers. Last week, he ordered protesters to be expelled from official departments in central Colombo.

His main challenger will be former Education Minister Dulas Alhapiroma, 63, a former journalist who defected from the opposition-backed SLPP party.

The third candidate is Anura Desanaimah, 53, leader of the People’s Liberation Front, who has three seats in parliament.