Sri Lankan lawmakers have elected former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the President of the crisis-hit country, a move likely to anger protesters who have been demanding his removal from office for weeks.
Wickremesinghe who was a six-time former prime minister and key ally of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa won a parliamentary ballot after his predecessor fled the country following protests over an economic crisis .
Wickremesinghe received 134 votes from a possible 223.
Addressing parliament shortly after the result on Wednesday, July 20 Wickremesinghe said while the country had been "divided on party lines" the "time has now come to work together."
This comes after protesters set Wickremesinghe's private residence on fire and overran the presidential palace in a desperate attempt to overthrow the government and end the economic crisis that has engulfed Sri Lanka since March. The protesters appeared to have gotten their aim when Rajapaksa fled and Wickremesinghe the prime minister at the time vowed to resign to make way for a unity government.
Wickremesinghe's appointment might inflame the already tense situation in the country with Even some members of his own ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna political party have said they disapproved of him taking the top job.
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