Wickremesinghe’s election as Sri Lankan PM could have severe consequences
Analysis: Political turmoil could hinder any chance of tackling the ongoing economic crisis
On Thursday morning, 45 years to the day since he was first elected to parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the eighth president of Sri Lanka, replacing the ousted and exiled Gotabaya Rajapaksa. His pathway to executive power – the office Wickremesinghe has clamoured after for so many years – was extraordinary. As a searing editorial in Sri Lanka’s Daily FT newspaper put it on Thursday morning: “Wickremesinghe has no popular mandate and he has won the presidency by proxy.”
Many believe that Wickremesinghe’s election, far from stabilising Sri Lanka after the dramatic toppling of Rajapaksa, will instead put it on a pathway of ongoing turmoil and unrest. For a country grappling with the worst economic crisis since the great depression, the consequences could be severe.
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