Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - After winning a vote in parliament the day before and pleading with the island nation to band together t...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - After winning a vote in parliament the day before and pleading with the island nation to band together to find a solution to its greatest economic crisis in decades, seasoned politician Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president on Thursday.
The six-time prime minister succeeded Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who quit his position and left Sri Lanka last week in the wake of widespread protests over his management of the country's economy. The nation's chief justice officiated the swearing-in event, which took place in parliament.
A catastrophic financial crisis has rendered the 22 million-person nation helpless, and a dearth of foreign cash has resulted in shortages of goods including fuel, food, and medication.
The primary state-run distributor, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, will resume sales on Thursday with a new rationing system in place after receiving additional supplies of diesel over the weekend, according to the power and energy ministry.
Despite Wickremesinghe's unpopularity with some segments of the populace, the protest movement that ousted Rajapaksa, the first sitting president of Sri Lanka to resign, remained mainly subdued.
The presidential secretariat, a colonial-era structure that was invaded earlier this month along with the president and prime minister's official homes, was only partially populated on Thursday.
But some have promised to continue their battle with Wickremesinghe.
The country needs a complete system overhaul, according to Pratibha Fernando, a protester at the secretariat, so we won't give up. We are doing this because we want to get rid of these corrupt politicians.
Wickremesinghe appeared to separate himself from the influential Rajapaksa family, which has long dominated politics in Sri Lanka, in the hours following his victory in the parliamentary vote on Wednesday.
"I don't get along with the Rajapaksas. I am a person's buddy "After offering prayers at a Buddhist temple in Colombo, the country's commercial centre, he informed reporters.
Negotiations for a bailout package of up to $3 billion have been going on between Wickremesinghe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), who previously served as Rajapaksa's finance minister and prime minister.
Sri Lanka is also seeking aid from its neighbours, including China, India, and other nations.
