Sri Lanka is all set to see a new president on 20 July after Gotabaya Rajapaksa formally resigned on Friday. Will it be Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, or Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa?
The island nation of Sri Lanka finally bid adieu to Gotabaya Rajapaksa after he formally put in his papers on Friday, not before he fled to Maldives and then Singapore. Following his resignation from the post, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn-in as interim president.
As interim president, Ranil Wickremesinghe imposed state of emergency across the island nation, which is going through the worst economic and political crisis since its independence in 1948. Food, fuel and medicines are in short supply as inflation is seen touching 70 per cent.
In an attempt to steer the country out of its current chaos, lawmakers met on Saturday to begin choosing a new leader and Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has promised that a vote will be taken up on the same on 20 July and that the new president would hold office for the remaining two years of Rajapaksa’s term before a fresh election in 2024.
As of now, four names are doing the rounds as being the contenders for the post of president. We take a closer look at them and their achievements.
Ranil Wickremesinghe
A six-time prime minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe is in the lead for the president’s post, a position that he has sought for decades.
Despite protesters wanting him out, Ranil Wickremesinghe is in the lead for the president’s post, a position that he has sought for decades. AFP
Ranil ran for the presidency twice — in 1999 and 2005 — losing both elections. Under his rule, the United National Party (UNP), Sri Lanka’s oldest political party, was annihilated in a parliamentary election in 2020, leaving Wickremesinghe as its only MP.
Born into a politically connected family rooted in publishing and plantations, Wickremesinghe started as a rookie reporter at one of the family newspapers.
But he turned to a legal career after the family firm was nationalised in 1973 by Sirima Bandaranaike, the world’s first woman prime minister.
He made the political plunge in 1977 and became Sri Lanka’s prime minister in 1993.
His political manoeuvrings have enabled him to remain relevant in the political landscape and also helped secure his sixth appointment to the post of prime minister after Rajapaksa’s brother Mahinda resigned.
However, there is anger against Wickremesinghe which became evident when demonstrators torched his official residence, Temple Trees, last week.
Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena
The current Speaker of Sri Lanka’s Parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has also emerged as a contender for the post of president in the troubled-struck country.
Hailing from the southern district of Matara, he is a member of the Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) and is believed to be a loyalist to Mahinda Rajapaksa, brother of Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
A long-time politician, he has been around for 30 years, Abeywardena served as chief minister for the southern province for seven years until 2001. He has also held different portfolios, the most prominent being the agriculture portfolio.
In 1987, he was removed from his seat for voting against the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka accord that was supposed to resolve the civil war by giving power to the provinces, withdrawing troops and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam laying down their arms.
Sajith Premadasa
On Friday, Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa announced his bid to become the next president of Sri Lanka.
The leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Premadasa seems to be one of the favourites.
Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Sajith Premadasa has a long political lineage with his father Ranasinghe Premadasa serving as prime minister from 1977 to 1989, and president from 1989 to 1993 until he was assassinated. AFP
Sajith has a long political lineage with his father Ranasinghe Premadasa serving as prime minister from 1977 to 1989, and president from 1989 to 1993, until he was assassinated in a suicide bombing, carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
A graduate from London School of Economics and the University of London, Sajith entered politics after his father’s death and has led the United National Party.
In 2000, he was elected to parliament and was appointed deputy health minister in 2001. In coming years, he assumed many roles and even contested the 2019 presidential elections. However, he didn’t find success in that endeavour.
Premadasa’s SJB currently holds 54 seats in the 225-member Parliament.
Aditya Gowdara Shivamurthy, a Junior Fellow with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme who focuses on South Asia, told The Quint, “He might do a fair job in bringing together the opposition and the independent MPs. The problem, however, is that protestors demand the dissolution of the Parliament, which means even he might not enjoy complete legitimacy.”
Sarath Fonseka
The 71-year-old former army chief and nemesis of the Rajapaksa family, Sarath Fonseka has emerged in the running for the top post in the country.
In fact, last Thursday, he claimed he was ready to become president if supported by the majority.
Considered a war hero by many in Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese community after leading the army to victory over Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, he challenged Mahinda Rajapaksa in the 2010 elections, but was unsuccessful.
Shortly afterwards, he was arrested and charged with a variety of offences ranging from harbouring deserters to treason.
He remained defiant through court martial proceedings, In August 2010, he was found guilty of engaging in politics while on active service. He was given a 30-month jail term and in the following month also faced court martial for corruption in arms procurement deals.
In November 2011, he was found guilty of implicating the government in war crimes during the final phase of the conflict with the rebels and was sentenced to three years in jail.
In 2021, he was acquitted of all charges by President Maithripala Sirisena and given complete amnesty.
Dullas Alahapperuma
The 63-year-old lawmaker from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is also being considered as a hot favourite in the race for Sri Lanka’s president post.
63-year-old Dullas Alahapperuma is a journalit-turned-politician. He has assured that he is a politician of a “friendly and reliable” nature who is capable of receiving the support of all. AFP
A former ally of Rajapaksa, Alahapperuma began his political career with the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) before switching to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
A former journalist, his first brush with politics was in 1994 when he served as the minister of mass media and a cabinet spokesperson. He then became the member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from Matara District. He later resigned in April when President Rajapaksa dissolved the cabinet after protesters surrounded his private residence.
In a report by The Quint, Alahapperuma says he strongly believes that the people of this country should not suffer hardships or despair anymore. “It is evident that everyone has a constant desire and interest to find a sustainable solution to the prevailing crises. As a developed cultural society, these issues should be solved within a democratic constitutional political framework,” he said.
Alahapperuma assured that he is a politician of a “friendly and reliable” nature who is capable of receiving the support of all.
All four contenders await with bated breath for 20 July to see what the future holds for them.
One thing is for certain; the road ahead for the next president will be bumpy and it is left to be seen if he will be able to steer Sri Lanka out of the current crisis.
With inputs from agencies
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