Ranil Wickremesinghe, leader of the Opposition, on Thursday, May 12, was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka amid the worst crisis that the country is facing presently.
The decision to establish a new PM came a few days after former president Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned after the violent protests took place over the economic crisis in the debt-ridden country.
The United National Party’s (UNP) leader, aged 73, was appointed as the PM by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after they conducted various discussions on Wednesday.
Wickremesinghe, who was the country’s prime minister four times, was fired from his seat in October 2018 by then-President Maithripala Sirisena. However, he was reassigned as the PM by Sirisena two months later.
The UNP is the oldest political party in the island nation and had failed to gain even a single seat from districts, including Wickremesinghe, who competed from the UNP stronghold Colombo during the 2020 parliamentary polls.
Wickremesinghe has been widely accepted as a man who can manage the crisis in the economy with far-sighted policies and is regarded as the Sri Lankan politician who could lead international cooperation.
Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis since its independence from the Britishers in the year 1948.
The crisis results from a lack of foreign currency, which means that the nation cannot afford to pay for imports of staple food or fuel, leading to severe shortages of essential commodities and very high prices.
Eight people lost their lives, and over 200 people got injured in the huge violence that took place between anti-government and pro-protestors in Colombo and other cities. The Colombo national hospital revealed that at least 217 people were admitted for treatment.
On Tuesday, May 10, the Defence Secretary-General (Retd) of Sri Lanka, Kamal Gunaratne, asked the people to stay peaceful in this situation and not to take part in any type of violence. He also alerted the people that robberies or property damage would lead to strict action against the wrongdoers.
