Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as new Sri Lanka’s new prime minister
PTI, May 12, 2022, 7:04 PM IST
Image credit: AFP
Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Thursday sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, days after his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned following violent protests over the worst economic crisis in the debt-ridden island nation.
The 73-year-old from United National Party (UNP) was appointed as the prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after they held closed-door discussions on Wednesday. Wickremesinghe, who has served as the country’s prime minister for four times, was in October 2018 fired from the post of prime minister by then-President Maithripala Sirisena. However, he was reinstalled as the prime minister by Sirisena after two months.
Members of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a section of the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and several other parties have expressed their support to show majority for Wickremesinghe in Parliament, sources said.
The UNP, the oldest party in the country, had failed to win a single seat from districts, including Wickremesinghe who contested from the UNP stronghold Colombo in 2020 parliamentary polls.
He later found his way to Parliament through the sole national list allocated to the UNP on the basis of the cumulative national vote. His deputy Sajith Premadasa had led the breakaway SJB and became the main Opposition.
Wickremesinghe is widely accepted as a man who could manage the economy with far-sighted policies and is perceived as the Sri Lankan politician who could command international cooperation.
Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from Britain in 1948. The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
Udayavani is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest news.
Top News
Related Articles More
COP29: India rejects new USD 300 billion climate finance deal
Royal tour of India in offing for King Charles, Queen Camilla: Report
Indian-American leaders applaud PM Modi for inclusive growth in India
COP29: Civil society protests climate finance proposal, calls for ‘no deal’ over ‘bad deal’
Bomb disposal squad tackles ‘security incident’ at UK’s Gatwick Airport
MUST WATCH
Latest Additions
‘Challenge after 44 years’: Supreme Court junks pleas against ‘socialist’, ‘secular’ in Preamble
Katapadi: Dangerous potholes along NH-66 pose threat to commuters
HC seeks Centre’s response on girl’s plea to expedite rare disease treatment
Mumbai Indians have got the playing 12; very happy to pair Bumrah with Boult: Akash Ambani
Air pollution: SC directs action against officials for ‘serious lapse’ in ensuring GRAP-IV curbs
Thanks for visiting Udayavani
You seem to have an Ad Blocker on.
To continue reading, please turn it off or whitelist Udayavani.