The Parliament of Sri Lanka voted to elect a new president of the country. He appointed the current Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, whose resignation was also demanded by the people during the protests.
The BBC writes about it.
134 deputies voted pro, while 82 voted con.
After his election, Wickremesinghe told parliament that the country was in "a very difficult situation", adding that "we have big problems ahead of us". He said he would seek to restore political stability in Sri Lanka so that it could resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a financial assistance package. He also called for political unity and for opposition parties to work with his government for the good of the country.
Wickremesinghe has been in politics for 45 years and was the Prime Minister of the country six times. However, during the recent protests, people demanded his resignation. In addition, they broke into the government building and burnt Wickremesingheʼs private house.
- The largest financial crisis since 1948 is taking place in Sri Lanka. The countryʼs foreign exchange reserves fell to a record low level, in April Sri Lanka declared default. The authorities suspended the work of schools and limited the sale of fuel. In several large cities, in particular in Colombo, hundreds of people stand in queues for hours for fuel. Because of this, there are clashes with the police and the military.
- On July 6, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, declared that his country was bankrupt. On July 9, in the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo, protesters seized the presidentʼs residence and demanded his resignation. President Rajapaksa fled the country on July 13 without tendering his resignation. He went first to the Maldives, then to Singapore, from where he reportedly submitted his resignation letter to the Sri Lankan High Commission. He later went to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.