Sri Lankan PM Wickremesinghe sworn in as interim president amid political chaos
Global News
The speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament said lawmakers will convene Saturday to choose a new leader after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned effective Thursday.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Sri Lanka‘s interim president Friday until Parliament elects a successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who resigned after mass protests over the country’s economic collapse forced him from office.
The speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament said lawmakers will convene Saturday to choose a new leader after Rajapaksa resigned effective Thursday. Their choice would serve out the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term ending in 2024, said Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.
He promised a swift and transparent process that should be done within a week.
The new president could appoint a new prime minister, who would then have to be approved by Parliament. With Rajapaksa out, pressure on Wickremesinghe was rising.
In a televised statement, Wickremesinghe said he would initiate steps to change the constitution to curb presidential powers and strengthen Parliament, restore law and order and take legal action against “insurgents.”
Referring to clashes near Parliament on Wednesday night when many soldiers were reportedly injured, Wickremesinghe said true protesters will not get involved in such actions.
“There is a big difference between protesters and insurgents. We will take legal action against insurgents,” he said.
Wickremesinghe became the acting president after Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka on Wednesday, flying first to the Maldives and then to Singapore. The prime minister’s office said Wickremesinghe was sworn in Friday as interim president before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya.
