Sri Lankan lawmakers on Wednesday elected the unpopular prime minister as their new president, a choice that risked reigniting turmoil in the South Asian nation reeling from economic collapse and months of round-the-clock protests. The crisis has already forced out one leader, and a few hundred protesters quickly gathered after the vote to express their outrage that Ranil Wickremesinghe — a six-time prime minister whom they see as part of the problematic political establishment — would stay in power. While the choice invited more protests, lawmakers apparently considered Wickremesinghe a safe pair of hands, a politician with deep experience who could lead Sri Lanka out of the crisis. He has spent 45 years in Parliament and led recent talks seeking a bailout for the bankrupt island nation. Sri Lankans have taken to the street for months to demand their top leaders step down as the country spiraled into economic chaos that left its 22 million people struggling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel and food. After demonstrators stormed the presidential palace and several other government buildings last week, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled and then resigned. Much of the protesters' ire is focused on Rajapaksa and his family’s political dynasty, which ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades. But many also blame Wickremesinghe for protecting Rajapaksa. During demonstrations last week, crowds set his personal residence on fire and occupied his office. Wednesday's vote means Wickremesinghe — who was also Rajapaksa’s finance minister and became acting president after the leader fled — will finish the presidential term ending in 2024. He can now also appoint a new prime minister. “I need not tell you what state our country is in," Wickremesinghe, 73, told fellow lawmakers after his victory was announced. "People are not expecting the old politics from us. They expect us to work together.” He pleaded for the country to move on: “Now that the election is over, we have to end this division.” Read: Wickremesinghe elected president in crisis-hit Sri Lanka But protesters flocked to the presidential residence instead, chanting, “Ranil, go home.” “We are very sad, very disappointed with the 225 parliament members who we elected to speak for us, which they have not done,” said Visaka Jayawware, a performance artist in the crowd. “We will keep fighting for the people of Sri Lanka. We have to ask for a general election.” Wickremesinghe has wide experience in diplomatic and international affairs and oversaw the bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund. But many voters view him with suspicion since he was appointed prime minister by Rajapaksa in May, in hopes he would restore stability. The protesters accuse Rajapaksa and his powerful family of siphoning money from government coffers and of hastening the country’s collapse by mismanaging the economy. The family has denied the corruption allegations, but the former president acknowledged that some of his policies contributed to Sri Lanka’s meltdown. “The struggle will continue until our demands are met. Wickremesinghe "doesn’t have a mandate to rule the country,” said Nemel Jayaweera, a human resources professional. “We will oppose him.” Still, the ruling party's majority in Parliament swept Wickremesinghe to victory with 134 votes. Populist Dullas Alahapperuma, a longtime ally of Rajapaksa and also a minister in his government, secured 82 votes. A Marxist candidate netted three votes. The vote, shown on national television, was a decorous, solemn affair. While the balloting was secret, as the results were announced, lawmakers thumped their tables in support of their candidates. After the vote, some supporters celebrated Wickremesinghe’s win in the streets. He will be sworn in Thursday. Only a few lawmakers had publicly said they would vote for Wickremesinghe given the widespread hostility against him. But dozens loyal to Rajapaksa had been expected to back him because he had assured them he would severely punish protesters who burned politicians’ homes in the unrest. On Monday, in his role as acting president, Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency that gave him broad authority to act in the interest of public security and order. Authorities can carry out searches and detain people, and Wickremesinghe can also change or suspend any law. The political turmoil in Sri Lanka has only worsened the economic disaster. But Wickremesinghe said Monday that negotiations with the IMF were drawing close to a conclusion, and talks on help from other countries had also progressed. He also said the government has taken steps to resolve shortages of fuel and cooking gas. Hours before Wednesday's vote, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told financial magazine Nikkei Asia that the organization hoped to complete the rescue talks “as quickly as possible.” As prime minister, Wickremesinghe delivered weekly addresses in Parliament cautioning that the path out of the crisis would be difficult, while also pledging to overhaul a government that increasingly has concentrated power under the presidency. Presidents in Sri Lanka are normally elected by the public. The responsibility falls to Parliament only if the presidency becomes vacant before the term officially ends. That has happened only once before in Sri Lanka, in 1993, when then-Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was chosen by Parliament uncontested after former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, father of the current opposition leader, was assassinated.

Sri Lanka’s president and prime minister agreed to resign Saturday after the country’s most chaotic day in months of political turmoil, with protesters storming both officials’ homes and setting fire to one of the buildings in a rage over the nation’s severe economic crisis.   Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said he will leave office once a new government is in place, and hours later the speaker of Parliament said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would step down Wednesday. Pressure on both men grew as the economic meltdown set off severe shortages of essential items, leaving people struggling to buy food, fuel and other necessities.   Police had attempted to thwart promised protests with a curfew, then lifted it as lawyers and opposition politicians denounced it as illegal. Thousands of protesters entered the capital, Colombo, and swarmed into Rajapaksa’s fortified residence. Video images showed jubilant crowds taking a dip in the garden pool. Some people lay on the home’s beds, while others made tea and issued statements from a conference room demanding that the president and prime minister go.   It was not clear if Rajapaksa was there at the time, and government spokesman Mohan Samaranayake said he had no information about the president’s movements.   Also read: Sri Lankans storm president's house, office in biggest rally   Protesters later broke into the prime minister’s private residence and set it on fire, Wickremesinghe’s office said. It wasn’t immediately clear if he was there when the incursion happened.   Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said in a televised statement that he informed Rajapaksa that parliamentary leaders had met and decided to request he leave office, and the president agreed. However Rajapaksa will remain temporarily to ensure a smooth transfer of power, Abeywardena added.   “He asked me to inform the country that he will make his resignation on Wednesday the 13th, because there is a need to hand over power peacefully,” Abeywardena said.   “Therefore there is no need for further disturbances in the country, and I urge everyone for the sake of the country to maintain peace to enable a smooth transition,” the speaker continued.   Opposition lawmaker Rauff Hakeem said a consensus was reached for the speaker of Parliament to take over as temporary president and work on an interim government.   Wickremesinghe announced his own impending resignation but said he would not step down until a new government is formed, angering protesters who demanded his immediate departure.   “Today in this country we have a fuel crisis, a food shortage, we have the head of the World Food Program coming here and we have several matters to discuss with the IMF,” Wickremesinghe said. “Therefore, if this government leaves there should be another government.”   Wickremesinghe said he suggested to the president to have an all-party government, but didn’t say anything about Rajapaksa’s whereabouts. Opposition parties were discussing the formation of a new government.   Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May in the hope that the career politician would use his diplomacy and contacts to resuscitate a collapsed economy. But people’s patience wore thin as shortages of fuel, medicine and cooking gas only increased and oil reserves ran dry.   The country is relying on aid from India and other nations as leaders try to negotiate a bailout with the International Monetary Fund.   Months of demonstrations have all but dismantled the Rajapaksa political dynasty, which has ruled Sri Lanka for most of the past two decades but is accused by protesters of mismanagement and corruption. The president’s older brother resigned as prime minister in May after violent protests saw him seek safety at a naval base.   Many protesters crowded onto buses and trains Saturday to get to the capital, while others made their way on bicycles and on foot. At the president’s seaside office, security personnel tried in vain to stop protesters who pushed through fences to run across the lawns and inside the colonial-era building.   At least 34 people including two police officers were hurt in scuffles. Two were in critical condition, while others sustained minor injuries, according to an official at the Colombo National Hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.   Privately owned Sirasa Television reported that at least six of its workers, including four reporters, were hospitalized after being beaten by police while covering the protest at the prime minister’s home.   Sri Lanka Medical Council, the country’s top professional body, warned that hospitals were running with minimum resources and would not be able to handle any mass casualties from the unrest.   Protest and religious leaders said Rajapaksa has lost his mandate and it is time for him to go.   “His claim that he was voted in by the Sinhala Buddhists is not valid now,” said Ven. Omalpe Sobitha, a prominent Buddhist leader. He urged Parliament to convene immediately to select an interim president.   U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung on Friday asked people to protest peacefully and called for the military and police “to grant peaceful protesters the space and security to do so.”   “Chaos & force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lankans need right now,” Chung tweeted.   Wickremesinghe said last month that the country’s economy had collapsed and negotiations with the IMF were complex because Sri Lanka was now a bankrupt state.   Sri Lanka announced in April that it was suspending repayment of foreign loans due to a foreign currency shortage. Its total foreign debt amounts to $51 billion, of which it must repay $28 billion by the end of 2027.     Also read: Sri Lanka imposes curfew as cops fire tear gas at protesters  

It has been nearly three weeks since Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as prime minister of Sri Lanka with a daunting mandate to pull the crisis-weary country from the brink of an economic abyss that threatens to tear it apart. The five-time prime minister has inherited a nation barreling toward bankruptcy and saddled with foreign debt so big that it has no money left for basic imports. Sri Lankans are struggling to access the bare necessities like food, fuel, medicine, cooking gas and even toilet paper and matches. In his new job, Wickremesinghe left little doubt about what lies ahead. “The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives,” he told the nation fed up with long lines, sky-rocketing inflation and daily protests that seem to be getting out of control. “We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period.” Since the May 17 televised speech, the seasoned politician, who also serves as the finance minister, has begun difficult negotiations with financial institutions, lenders and allies, and United Nations agencies to fill the coffers and give some relief to impatient citizens. Also read: Bangladesh won’t face Sri Lanka-like crisis: Ambassador Haas He has taken necessary steps like raising taxes and has pledged to overhaul government that concentrates power under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a model that many believe exacerbated the crisis. He took over after days of violent protests last month forced his predecessor, President Rajapaksa's brother Mahinda, to step down and seek safety from angry crowds at a naval base. Wickremesinghe is due to deliver a much-awaited speech in Parliament on Tuesday that many hope will showcase a strategy to fix the crisis. But time may not be on his side as reforms are slow and people want results now. He’s also a one-man party in Parliament — the only lawmaker from his party to hold a seat after it suffered a humiliating defeat in a 2020 election. “A person who doesn’t have a political base has an unprecedented crisis to manage,” said Dayan Jayatilleka, a former diplomat and political analyst. Lines to buy fuel and cooking gas have stretched kilometers (miles) every day, snaking around blocks, with Sri Lankans weathering heavy rains and scorching heat to buy essential items that cost three times what they used to. Often, they have to wait days, and many still end up empty-handed. Jagath Chandana, 43, has been waiting in line on the outskirts of the capital, Colombo, with a canister to buy cooking gas for two days. “It has been crazy. We are totally helpless. It seems even Ranil can’t resolve the crisis. They (politicians) just talk but on the ground level, people are suffering,” he said. Also read: Sri Lanka closes schools, limits work amid fuel shortage For over 50 days, protesters have camped outside Rajapaksa’s office demanding he step down. They say economic mismanagement, policy blunders like a hasty ban on imported chemical fertilizers that devastated crops, and a government stocked with Rajapaksa relatives caused the crisis. At their peak in power, six Rajapaksas occupied government posts — the crisis has seen the exit of all except one. The other five still remain as lawmakers. Sri Lanka has suspended repayment of nearly $7 billion in foreign debt due this year. It owes $26 billion through 2026 out of a total of $51 billion. Foreign currency reserves have diminished to just two weeks’ worth of imports while Wickremesinghe prepares to obtain a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. On Thursday, he said any bridge financing will depend on an IMF agreement and he was hopeful that negotiations would finish by the end of June. The government is targeting $5 billion for repayments and another $1 billion to pad up the country’s reserves, Wickremesinghe said last week. In such a volatile situation, Wickremesinghe has been able to bring some transparency and rationality that was lacking in the previous administration run by the Rajapaksa clan, said Jayatilleka. But analysts also say it will be difficult for him to deliver on some of the challenges, especially as he also faces a messy battle to overhaul the constitution and strengthen the powers of Parliament to bring in much-needed reforms. “His proposals are good for medium and long term. But people want immediate changes to take place and that they don’t see,” said political analyst Jehan Perera, adding that some see Wickremesinghe as helping Rajapaksa to stay in power. In addition to demanding a new president, protesters have for weeks pushed for a complete revamp of what they say is a broken governance model. For nearly 45 years, Sri Lanka has been ruled under a powerful executive presidential system. After a thumping election victory in 2019, Rajapaksa strengthened the system through constitutional amendments that further concentrated powers in the presidency — a move that alarmed critics at the time too. Wickremesinghe made a key and early pitch to roll back some of the presidential powers. But such measures will not be easy and will require not just the approval of the Supreme Court but also a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Questions remain whether Wickremesinghe would be able to push through reforms in the 225-seat Parliament where Rajapaksa’s party holds the majority. Some opposition parties have already thrown their support behind the reforms, but Wickremesinghe's sole standing in the chamber could prove a major drawback. Or it could be an asset. His party split in 2020 amid a leadership crisis, prompting most of the senior members to leave and form a new party — currently the country’s main opposition. “He has the opportunity of playing the role of a technocratic prime minister, with his expertise and experience, unconnected to any political party,” said Jayatilleka. The size of the protests since Wickremesinghe assumed duties has also been shrinking. Perera said it is tough for people to sustain the high momentum but that as long as the economic crisis continues, so will the demonstrations. While signs of financial hardship and struggle remain in Sri Lanka, there is growing hope among some that Wickremesinghe will see them through the tough times. “He can’t perform miracles, it will take time to resolve the crisis because previous ministers have messed up,” said Amila Prasanna, a carpenter. “He is trying to solve the problems, one by one, and I am sure he will do something,” he said as he queued up for three days to buy gas.

Sri Lanka's prime minister resigned Monday following weeks of protests demanding that he and his brother, the country's president, step down for dragging the nation into its worst economic crisis in decades. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he submitted his resignation to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a move that followed a violent attack by government supporters on the protesters, prompting authorities to deploy armed troops in the capital, Colombo. Four people, including a ruling party lawmaker, died in Monday's violence, police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa told the Associated Press. President Rajapaksa imposed a countrywide curfew Monday evening lasting until Wednesday morning. For more than a month, protests have spread across the country, drawing people across ethnicities, religions and class. For the first time middle-class Sri Lankans also took to the streets in large numbers, marking a dramatic revolt by many former Rajapaksa supporters, some of whom have spent weeks protesting outside the president’s office. The protests underscored a dramatic fall from favor of the Rajapaksas, Sri Lanka’s most powerful political dynasty for decades. The brothers were once hailed as heroes by many of the island’s Buddhist-Sinhalese majority for ending the country’s 30-year civil war, and despite accusations of war atrocities, were firmly entrenched at the top of Sri Lankan politics until now. The prime minister’s resignation comes as the country’s economy has swiftly unraveled in recent weeks. Imports of everything from milk to fuel have plunged, spawning dire food shortages and rolling power cuts. People have been forced to stand in lines for hours to buy essentials. Doctors have warned of crippling shortages of life-saving drugs in hospitals, and the government has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign debt due this year alone. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa initially blamed Sri Lanka's economic woes on global factors like the pandemic battering its tourism industry and the Russia-Ukraine conflict pushing up global oil prices. But both he and his brother have since admitted to mistakes that exacerbated the crisis, including conceding they should have sought an International Monetary Fund bailout sooner. Sri Lanka has been holding talks with the IMF to set up a rescue plan but its progress depends on negotiations on debt restructuring with creditors. Any long-term plan would take at least six months to get underway. Sri Lanka was in financial trouble even before the Ukraine war drove up food and oil prices and made things worse. The Sri Lankan government has been running big budget deficits after cutting taxes in 2019 and struggling to collect taxes during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also has piled up massive foreign debt — much of it owed to China — and has scant foreign exchange reserves to pay for imports and to defend its embattled currency, the rupee. Sri Lanka is at the top of a list compiled by Liliana Rojas-Suarez of the Center for Global Development that ranks the countries most exposed to financial shocks. Those most vulnerable rely on commodity imports and have low foreign exchange reserves compared to what they owe other countries. Monday's violence triggered widespread anger, with people singling out Rajapaksa supporters and attacking them in many parts of the country. Ruling party lawmaker Amarakeerthi Athukorale and his bodyguard were killed in Nittambuwa, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Colombo after the car they were traveling in was intercepted by an angry crowd, the police spokesman said. Athikorale or his bodyguard had fired gunshots at the protesters, who chased them and trapped them inside a building where their badly beaten bodies were recovered by police several hours later, the spokesman said. Three people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds from the shots fired from the lawmaker's vehicle, he said. Separately, in the Rajapaksas' hometown of Weeraketiya, a crowd that tried to set fire to a local politician's home was fired upon killing two protesters, he said. Also read: Mahindra Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lanka PM Protesters tried several times to break into the prime minister's official residence Monday night forcing police to fire tear gas. Homes of government ministers and politicians supporting the Rajapaksas were also attacked and some set on fire. The memorial for the brothers' parents was vandalized. Jayadeva Uyangoda, a political scientist in Colombo, said the prime minister's resignation marked a new chapter in the country’s political crisis. “The prime minister had to resign in disgrace after his supporters unleashed such violence,” he said. He added that it would be difficult for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to maintain credibility after Monday's violence. But the president has so far refused to resign and Parliament must go through a difficult process if it attempts to oust him. The resignation of the prime minister meant the entire Cabinet was dissolved. Earlier on Monday, the prime minister's supporters attacked protesters who had been demonstrating outside the prime minister’s official residence for weeks, hitting them with wooden and iron poles. They then marched to the president’s office, where they attacked protesters there and set their camps on fire. Police fired tear gas and a water cannon, but not forcefully enough to control the mob. The attack occurred despite a state of emergency declared by the president Friday that gave him wide powers for riot control. Hundreds of armed soldiers were deployed in the capital, as the protesters accused police of not preventing the attack, despite using tear gas and water cannons on protesters on Friday. “Police did not protect us, therefore we have taken it into our own hands,” said Druvi Jinasena, who was helping block roads to protect the protest site. An official at the main hospital in Colombo said 173 people were treated, most for minor injuries, though 15 were seriously injured. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak to the media. The country’s foreign reserves have plummeted below $50 million and it owes nearly $25 billion in foreign debt for payment by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51 billion. Meanwhile, popular anger at the Rajapaksa clan has only grown, ramping up pressure on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to quit too. “There has been sustained pressure for the last several weeks for the president to resign but he hasn’t paid much attention to that," said Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Colombo-based Center for Policy Alternatives. “People are furious – and that anger is not going away anytime soon.”

Sri Lanka’s main opposition party on Tuesday issued a no-confidence declaration aiming at ousting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Cabinet and blaming them of failing in their constitutional duty to provide a decent living standards amid the island nation's worst economic crisis in memory. A group from United People's Force party, led by leader Sajith Premadasa, delivered the motion demanding the no-confident parliamentary vote to Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. The move came amid countrywide protests demanding the resignations of Rajapaksa and his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who the demonstrators hold responsible for the economic crisis. Also read: A political reckoning in Sri Lanka as debt crisis grows A majority vote in the 225-member Parliament would be needed to remove Rajapaksa and the Cabinet from power. The United People’s Force can only count on 54 votes but hopes to win votes from smaller opposition parties and defections from the ruling Sri Lanka People’s Front party. The ruling party had nearly 150 votes but that strength has declined amid the economic crisis and defections in a no-confidence vote are possible. A decision on when to hold the no-confidence vote is expected to happen after members of Parliament start meeting on Wednesday. The United People’s Force also delivered a no-confidence motion targeting the president, but it would not force him to leave office even a majority of lawmakers vote against him. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy after the country's recent announcement to suspend payments on its foreign loans. The country faces repayments of $7 billion of foreign loans this year of the $ 25 billion it is scheduled to pay by 2026. Sri Lanka has less than than $ 1 billion in foreign reserves. Also read: Sri Lanka discusses loan from China to cover earlier debts The foreign currency crisis has limited imports and caused severe shortages of essential goods like fuel, cooking gas, medicine and food. People stand in long lines for hours to buy what they can and many return home with little, if any, of what they were seeking. The United People’s Force's motion also accuses top government officials of excessively printing money, hurting agricultural production by banning chemical fertilizer to make the production fully organic, failing to order COVID-19 vaccines in a timely manner and buying them later at higher prices. Protesters on Tuesday were in their 25th day of their occupation of the entrance to the president's office, demanding the resignations of Rajapaksa family members who have ruled Sri Lanka for the last two decades.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister said Tuesday the constitution will be changed to clip presidential powers and empower Parliament as protesters continued to call on the president and his powerful family to quit over the country’s economic crisis. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told Parliament that the power transfer will be one of the quick steps that can be taken to politically stabilize the country and help talks with the International Monetary Fund for an economic recovery plan. “While looking for solutions to the economic problems, it is important that we have political and social stability in the country,” Rajapaksa said, adding that reverting to a constitutional status with more powers to Parliament will be start to the reforms. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is the prime minister’s brother, concentrated more powers in the presidency on being elected to the office in 2019. Read: Fuel prices rise to record high in Sri Lanka Thousands of protesters were occupying the entrance to the president’s office for a 11th day Tuesday, holding him responsible for the economic crisis. President Rajapaksa on Monday admitted that he made mistakes like delaying going to the IMF for help and banning agrochemicals with the aim of converting Sri Lanka’s agriculture to fully organic, leading to the crisis. However, both the president and prime minister have refused to step down, resulting in a political impasse. Opposition parties have rejected the president’s offer to join a unity government, but they are unable to hold a majority in Parliament and form a new government. In a Cabinet reshuffle Monday, the president appointed many new faces and left out four family members who held Cabinet and non-Cabinet ministries in what seemed an attempt to please the protesters without giving up his family’s grip on power. The Rajapaksa brothers are likely to retain their same grip on power even if the constitution is amended, since they hold both offices. Sri Lanka is on the brink of bankruptcy, with nearly $7 billion of its total $25 billion in foreign debt due for repayment this year. A severe shortage of foreign exchange means the country lacks money to buy imported goods. Read: Russia launches fight for industrial heartland, Ukraine says People have endured months of shortages of essentials like food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine, lining up for hours to buy the very limited stocks available. Last week, the government said it was suspending repayment of foreign loans pending talks with the IMF. Finance Minister Ali Sabry and officials left for talks with the IMF on Sunday. The IMF and World Bank are holding annual meetings in Washington this week. Sri Lanka has also turned to China and India for emergency loans to buy food and fuel.

Visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday emphasized sharing of development experiences between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the socio-economic development of the two countries.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is coming to Bangladesh on a two-day visit on Friday to join the celebrations of 50 years of independence and birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Sri Lanka’s former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the prime minister for the fourth time Sunday.