Sri Lanka: Protests erupt in Colombo as Ranil Wickremesinghe gets elected as new President

Amid the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo after Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as Sri Lanka's new

President on July 20. According to local media reports, they were not happy with the former Prime Minister's appointment to the top post in the country. Earlier on July 19, a day ahead of

the Presidential election, protesters had demanded Wickremesinghe's resignation, claiming the United National Party (UNP) leader did not have the people's mandate. 

On Tuesday, July 19, Sajith Premadasa, the leader of the main Opposition, withdrew his name from the Presidential race and stated that he was endorsing rival candidate Dullas Alahapperuma

for the post. Meanwhile, India strongly refuted media claims that New Delhi was attempting to influence political figures in Sri Lanka in relation to the Presidential elections. "We have

seen baseless and purely speculative media reports about efforts at the political level from India to influence political leaders in Sri Lanka regarding elections in the Sri Lankan

Parliament to the post of the President of Sri Lanka," the Indian High Commission tweeted.

It is worth mentioning here that the island country has been experiencing its worst economic crisis in history. The country has huge debt obligations and dwindling foreign reserves, and has

been struggling to pay for imports, causing a shortage of essentials. Meanwhile, citizens in the country have been forced to stand in long queues for fuel, cooking gas, and medicines. 

Addressing the parliament after being elected as the President, Wickremesinghe stated that division has come to an end in the crisis-ridden nation.

This site is part of Republic World and Republic Media Network