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Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the former president of Sri Lanka, resigned and departed the nation last week due to the island’s escalating economic crisis. On Tuesday, three contenders were proposed to take his position.
The victor will lead a bankrupt nation that is negotiating a bailout with the IMF and whose 22 million citizens face acute shortages of food, fuel, and medications.
According to the parliament, former education minister Dullas Alahapperuma and communist leader Anura Dissanayake will compete against acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe in a secret vote on Wednesday. Both candidates are supported by the main opposition.
Legislators formally nominated the three during a brief session inside the heavily secured parliament complex.
Moments before, the leader of the opposition, Sajith Premadasa, had tweeted his decision to withdraw from the race in favour of 63-year-old Alahapperuma, a rebellious SLPP party member.
Premadasa declared, “I therefore withdraw my candidacy for the role of President for the better welfare of my beloved country and the people I cherish.
According to political sources, the two came to an agreement over the course of the night that would have one of them serve as president and the other as prime minister while they worked to establish a unity government to deal with the nation’s escalating economic crisis.
However, the SLPP leadership, which continues to be the largest party in the 225-member parliament, has formally backed Wickremesinghe, a 73-year-old political veteran and six-time prime minister.
Anura Dissanayake, 53, is the third contender and the leader of the communist JVP, or People’s Liberation Front, which holds three seats in parliament.
Former army chief Sarath Fonseka, who was a potential fourth contender, was denied entry into the presidential campaign by legislators.
Rajapaksa’s remaining term, which lasts until November 2024, will be filled by the new president.
