Parliament elects RW as President

• Won 134 votes in an election held in Parliament following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa
• His competitors Dullas Alahapperuma received 82 votes while JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake received 3 votes in an election which saw 223 parliamentarians voting for the next President
• despite some party leaders pledging support for Dullas a day earlier, their MPs had however supported Wickremesinghe in the election

By JAMILA HUSAIN

Leader of the United National Party, Ranil Wickremesinghe was yesterday elected as the 8th Executive President of Sri Lanka by winning 134 votes in an election held in Parliament following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. 

His competitors Dullas Allahapperuma received 82 votes while JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake received 3 votes in an election which saw 223 parliamentarians voting for the next President. Out of the 225 MPs, two abstained from voting while there were four invalid votes. Shortly after the Secretary General of Parliament announced that Wickremesinghe had polled in 134 votes, President Wickremesinghe addressed Parliament and called on all party leaders to unite and work with him. 

“The people are not asking us for old politics. I request Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and other opposition parties including former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena to work together,” Wickremesinghe said in a speech following the ballot. After a night full of intense campaigning by both the Wickremesinghe and Dullas camps, the results of the election yesterday proved that despite some party leaders pledging support for Dullas a day earlier, their MPs had however supported Wickremesinghe in the election. 
However due to it being a secret ballot, it could not be identified as to who had voted for whom as mobile phones were also strictly prohibited during the election. President Wickremesinghe will take oaths in the Parliament premises today morning afterwhich senior MP Dinesh Gunawardena will be sworn in as the Prime Minister. In the coming days, President Wickremesinghe and Gunawardena will form a cabinet and will restart the stalled work to seek economic assistance and get the essential supplies.

Despite the election yesterday, protesters at Galle Face continued their demonstrations and have now converted the ‘GotaGoHome’ to ‘RanilGoHome’.  

• Requests Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and other opposition parties including former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena to work together
• Dinesh Gunawardena will be sworn in as the Prime Minister in the coming days
• President Wickremesinghe and Gunawardena will form a cabinet and will restart the stalled work to seek economic assistance