(Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe won a vote in parliament on Wednesday to be the country’s next president until 2024.
He takes over from former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country last week and resigned after hundreds of thousands of people came out on the streets protesting against his government’s handling of a crippling economic crisis.
Following are some reactions to his appointment.
PROTEST ORGANISER CHAMEERA DEDDUWAGE:
“What does it mean for the Aragalaya (struggle)? For one thing, it means that the Aragalaya will have to be satisfied with its primary demand, i.e. resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It also means that the Aragalaya, in one form or another, will have to find new ways to win our remaining demands. Unlike Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil is not a populist: he’s known to be a ruthless pragmatist. I think the immediate concern is the possible prosecution of leading members of the Aragalaya.”
OPPOSITION LAWMAKER ERAN WICKRAMARATNE ON TWITTER
“I hope the outcome would facilitate immediate political stability that is an imperative pre-requisite to stabilise the economy, so a general election can be called to restore people’s mandate thereafter.”
LAWMAKER DULLAS ALAHAPPERUMA, WICKREMESINGHE’S MAIN RIVAL IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE
“I accept the decision of parliament. My effort was to support consensus-based policy-making to provide solutions to a deeply suffering population. I believe the space for that still exists and I will continue to work to strengthen that effort and work for the people. This is simply another milestone in my career. I hope that at least now you will cultivate the mentality to listen to the suffering masses.”
(Compiled by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
