Colombo: Sri Lanka’s parliament votes today for a new president to replace Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled abroad last week after his palace was stormed by angry protesters.
The winner of the three-way contest to succeed Gotabaya Rajapaksa will take charge of a bankrupt nation that is in bailout talks with the IMF, with its 22 million people enduring severe shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
Analysts say the frontrunner is Ranil Wickremesinghe, a six-time former prime minister who became acting president after his predecessor resigned, but is despised by the protesters who see him as a Rajapaksa ally.
Months of demonstrations over an unprecedented economic crisis culminated in Rajapaksa announcing his resignation from Singapore last week, days after troops rescued the leader from his besieged compound.
