New Delhi: Where on the one hand, the economic crisis in Sri Lanka has now reached a new peak. At the same time, due to this increased inflation, now people’s food has also become a terrible disaster. In fact, the World Food Program (WFP) has said on the matter that, at present, more than 60 lakh people are facing a food crisis in the country. Sri Lanka is currently battling a severe foreign exchange crisis with depleting reserves and the government is unable to meet the bill for essential imports here.
Not only this, today the shortage of petrol in Sri Lanka is so dominating that high profile people ranging from cricketers to politicians have to stand in long queues for two days. The latest example is Sri Lankan cricketer Chamika Karunaratne, who has told about the trouble due to the ongoing petrol shortage in the country.
Sri Lankan Parliament convened today
According to media reports, a special meeting of Parliament has been called in Sri Lanka today. In this important meeting, the proceedings for the election of the next President will be started. Along with this, the new President is also likely to be elected on July 20. Let us tell you that this is the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that the President will be appointed by the parliamentarians and not by popular mandate. Be aware that former President Gotabaya has announced his resignation after fleeing the country.
Who’s who in the race for the presidency
However, the new President of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, will be in office for the rest of his term till November 2024. Let us tell you that Wickremesinghe will be at the forefront of the election to be held next week. Wickremesinghe, 73, was made prime minister in May to deal with the unprecedented economic crisis. However, his United National Party (UNP) was defeated in the 2020 parliamentary election. Wickremesinghe had failed to win a seat for the first time since 1977. Due to the lack of numbers in Parliament, he is dependent on the SLPP.
Here, his once special partner, Premdas (55) remained under Wickremesinghe’s shadow for a long time but later he formed his own party. His newly formed SJB had defeated Wickremesinghe’s party in all its strongholds in the 2020 elections and emerged as the main opposition party.
Next comes the number of Field Marshal Sarat Fonseca (71), who could also be a potential presidential candidate. Know that, he played an important role in defeating the militant organization LTTE. Fonseca is also supported by the Sinhalese Buddhist majority population. However, if his leader Premdas is out of this contest only then he can join the race for the post of President.
