Sri Lankans to protest against Wickremesinghe's bid for president
19 July, 2022
Sri Lankan students and other groups planned to protest on Tuesday (Jul 19) against Ranil Wickremesinghe's bid for president, as lawmakers gathered in parliament to finalise candidates for the role.
Six-time prime minister Wickremesinghe took over as acting president after a popular uprising amid a devastating economic crisis forced previous incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee to Singapore and resign. Demonstrators, angered by rocketing prices and shortages of food and fuel, want Wickremesinghe gone too.
Three candidates were nominated on Tuesday to replace Rajapaksa. Parliament announced that Wickremesinghe will face former education minister Dullas Alahapperuma - who has the backing of the main opposition - and leftist leader Anura Dissanayake in a secret ballot on Wednesday. Sri Lanka opposition leader Sajith Premadasa withdrew on Tuesday from the race to become president of the island nation, in order to support Alahapperuma.
"For the greater good of my country that I love and the people I cherish, I hereby withdraw my candidacy for the position of president," Premadasa said on Twitter.
His party and "our alliance and our opposition partners will work hard towards making" Dullas Alahapperuma the winner, he added.
Hit hard by the pandemic and tax cuts by the Rajapaksa government, Sri Lanka is in the midst of its worst economic crisis since it won independence from Great Britain in 1948.
Inflation of more than 50 per cent and shortages of food, fuel and medicines have brought thousands onto the streets in months of protests that culminated in Rajapaksa's ouster.
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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