A victory for the incumbent president, Ranil Wickremesinghe – one of two main contenders but opposed by many ordinary Sri Lankans – could lead to more protests by people angry with the ruling elite after months of extreme fuel shortages , food and medicine. Ruling party lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma, a former journalist, is more popular with protesters and the opposition but has no top-level governance experience in a country with almost no dollars for imports and in desperate need of an IMF bailout. Dullas Alahapperuma, presidential candidate of Sri Lanka. Photo: AP The third candidate, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, leader of the leftist Janatha Vimukti Peramuna party, has only three seats in parliament and has no realistic chance of winning. Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister, took over as president last week after the then-incumbent, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled to Singapore when protesters occupied his official residence and office – roaming the corridors, using the gym and swimming in his pool. Protesters also burned Wickremesinghe’s private home and stormed his office, but failed to evict him. Wickremesinghe said this week that by the time he joined the current government as prime minister in May, the economy had already collapsed. Sri Lankans have blamed the Rajapaksas – seven of the family have been in government since April – for the collapse. Their decisions to cut taxes and ban chemical fertilizers, which destroyed crops, decimated the debt-ridden economy badly exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. It was not immediately clear how much support Wickremesinghe, 73, considered an ally of the Rajapaksa clan, and Alahapperuma, 63, have in the 225-seat parliament. Wickremesinghe is supported by a section of the ruling party which had a total of 145 seats in the last parliamentary elections in 2020. Alahapperuma has the support of the other section as well as the main opposition party which won 54 seats in the last round. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Acting President of Sri Lanka. Photo: Eranga Jayawardena/AP The latest numbers are unclear because some lawmakers have become independents. “Earlier Ranil Wickremesinghe was the frontrunner, but now the result is much more uncertain,” said political scientist Jayadeva Uyangoda. “The balance of power in parliament has shifted away from him. The outcome depends on the control the Rajapaksas have… over their party members.” The Sri Lankan Parliament in 1993 unanimously elected DB Wijetunga to complete the term of assassinated President Ranasinghe Premadasa. This time three candidates are in the fray to complete Rajapaksa’s term, which is scheduled to end in 2024. “It will be marked as a new experience in the parliamentary history of this country,” said a statement from the parliament’s communications chief, which set out the process. A candidate receiving more than one-third of the valid votes cast shall be declared elected. If no candidate reaches the standings, the one with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated from the contest and the preferences of the legislators will be taken into account to find the final winner. Whatever the process, the protesters are clear that they want Wickremesinghe gone. Wickremesinghe, for his part, imposed a state of emergency on Monday, giving him more powers to launch a crackdown if he feels the need. “We protest again Ranil. He is a corrupt man,” said Duminda Nagamuwa, who organized protests in Colombo after the nominations were finalised. “If Ranil comes [into power] we cannot have stability.”
