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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday overwhelmingly elected as president to exchange Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the crisis-wracked nation and resigned final week.
Official outcomes confirmed Wickremesinghe polled 134 votes in a three-cornered parliamentary vote, along with his major opponent Dullas Alahapperuma getting 82 and leftist Anura Dissanayake simply three — giving him an absolute majority on first preferences.
“Our divisions at the moment are over,” Wickremesinghe mentioned in a quick acceptance speech in parliament, inviting Alahapperuma “to affix me and work collectively to convey the nation out of the disaster we face”.
He mentioned he hoped to be sworn in later Wednesday at a easy ceremony throughout the tightly guarded parliament constructing.
With the elevation of the 73-year-old to the highest job, the present cupboard mechanically stands dissolved and he’ll select a primary minister to kind a brand new cupboard.
Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana mentioned the eye of the world was targeted on the Sri Lankan legislature because it elected a frontrunner to serve the steadiness interval of Rajapaksa´s time period ending November 2024.
“It is a historic session, not just for parliament however the whole nation,” Abeywardana mentioned. “The eyes of the world are on us immediately as we elect a brand new president.”
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