Colombo, Jul 20 (PTI) Dullas Alahapperuma, the dissident leader of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party, who was defeated in the presidential election on Wednesday, said the primary task of the lawmakers must be to overcome the unprecedented economic crisis and rebuild public trust in the country’s political system.
Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka’s new President by Parliament, securing 134 votes in the 225-member House while his nearest rival Alahapperuma got 82.
Leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake secured just three votes.
Addressing Parliament following the election results, the 63-year-old said constitutional amendments that prioritised personal and political party agendas were given more importance than national agenda, which betrayed the sovereignty of the citizens.
Alahapperuma expressed gratitude to the lawmakers for their unflinching support, and termed this defeat an “encouraging guidance”.
The former minister said he contested the presidential elections to establish a “practical consensual government” for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history.
Alahapperuma urged lawmakers to jointly work together in overcoming the country’s unprecedented economic crisis and rebuilding public trust in the political system.
Alahapperuma, is a staunch Sinhala Buddhist nationalist and a key member of the breakaway group of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party.
The ex-Cabinet Minister of Information and Mass Media and former newspaper columnist is being seen as a left-leaning political ideologue.
He has held ministerial positions since 2005 and enjoys the reputation of having a clean public life.
This is for the first time in 44 years that Sri Lanka’s Parliament has directly elected a president.
Presidential elections in 1982, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2019 had elected them by popular vote.
The only previous occasion when the presidency became vacant mid-term was in 1993 when president Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated.
DB Wijetunga was unanimously endorsed by Parliament to run the balance of Premadasa’s term.
The economic crisis also sparked a political crisis in the country after a popular uprising against the government.
The island nation needs about USD 5 billion in the next six months to cover basic necessities for its 22 million people, who have been struggling with long queues, worsening shortages and power cuts. PTI VM AKJ VM VM
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