The Sri Lankan parliament elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country’s new President, following the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore after months of anti-government protests prompted by the ongoing economic crisis. Ranil Wickeremesinghe has beaten his rival Dullas Alahapperuma by 134 votes to 82. Wickremesinghe will rule the country until November 2024, when Rajapaksa’s term expires.
Protest have been shaking the country for over 4 months as Sri Lanka struggle with its worst economic crisis in decades due to lack of foreign reserves, causing severe shortage of food, fuel, imported goods and medicine.