Ranil Wickramasinghe has been elected as the 8th New President of Sri Lanka by the votes of the members of the Parliament, Parliamentary Secretary General and Visibility Officer Dhammika Dasanayake announced in the House.
Ranil Wickramasinghe got 134 votes, Dullas Alahapperuma got 82 votes and Anura Kumara Dissanayake who contested on behalf of National People's Power got 3 votes.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had left the country amid public protests. Subsequently, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who went to Singapore, sent his resignation letter to Speaker Mahinda Yappa Abeywardena on the 14th.
In this situation, as per the Constitution, Ranil Wickramasinghe was sworn in as Acting President on the 15th in the presence of the Chief Justice.
Following this, the vote to elect the new President was held in Parliament today. Vice President Ranil Wickramasinghe, Members of Parliament Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayake contested in this.
Ranil Wickramasinghe has been appointed as the new president after winning this competition.
Wickremesinghe, 73, is a seasoned politician with wide experience in diplomatic and international affairs. But he is unpopular among voters who view him as a holdover from Rajapaksa's government. Protesters outside the president's residence were chanting "Go home, Ranil" after his election.
Major parties such as Tamil National Federation, United People's Shakti and some members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party had extended their support to Dulas Alagaperuma. However, Ranil Wickramasinghe contested with the support of majority members of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.
Some tamil parties including Sri Lanka Labor Congress had expressed their support to Ranil Wickramasinghe. It is noteworthy that this is the first time that a president with executive powers has been elected through a parliamentary vote. This is the first time that a sitting president has left the country and resigned.
Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party is the only MP in parliament. He is the one and only MP who now has majority support in the Parliament and is now the President.