Sri Lanka’s Parliament held a special session on Saturday to start the process of electing a new President on July 20 following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has fled the country.
Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe is one of the four contenders to head the next government that has the arduous task of reviving the country’s bankrupt economy.
During the 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, secretary-general of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of President and said nominations should be submitted to him on July 19.
If more than one candidate submits nominations, Parliament will vote on July 20 to elect the new President, he said.
Besides Wickremesinghe, who is backed by the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), and Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, two other leaders have announced their intent to contest — Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and breakaway SLPP leader Dullas Alahapperuma. The new President will serve for the rest of Rajapaksa’s term until November 2024.
The 225-member Parliament is dominated by the SLPP.
At the special Parliament session, Dhammika Dassanayake read out the resignation letter from Rajapaksa to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena in which the former President defended his actions to address the economic crisis as well as the political turmoil.
