In a statement issued on Tuesday morning, Premadasa said that “for the greater good of my country that I love and the people that I love, I am withdrawing my candidacy for the post of president.” Instead, Premadasa pledged his support to Dullas Alahapperuma, the candidate from a splinter group of Sri Lanka’s ruling Podujana Peramuna Party (SLPP). The decision to withdraw from the presidential race is believed to be partly due to the tough political future facing any president who now takes the role. The new government, which is proposed to be a cross-party unity government, is likely to last only six to eight months until the country can afford to go to parliamentary elections. Presidential elections are not scheduled for November 2024. Premadasa’s support brings with it all the votes from his opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). It greatly improves Alahapperuma’s chances of defeating Wickremesinghe, the prime minister and acting president who will be the SLPP’s official candidate in the secret ballot, which will be held in parliament on Wednesday. It will now be a three-way vote between Alahapperuma, Wickremesinghe and leftist leader Anura Dissanayake, who were formally nominated by lawmakers in a short parliamentary session on Tuesday morning. Both Wickremesinghe and Alahapperuma are considered controversial presidential candidates by the public because of their close relationship with former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was forced to flee the country and resign last week following mass protests. It is likely to be a proper race. Wickremesinghe has the majority support of the ruling SLPP, which has the most seats in parliament. But according to people close to Alahapperuma who spoke to the Guardian, the support of the SJB – and other opposition parties likely to follow – means they now believe they have secured enough votes to defeat Wickremesinghe. Those close to Alahapperuma said a deal had been struck in which Premadasa would be prime minister and SJB MP Harsha da Silva, who is an economist, would be finance minister in a unity government with Alahapperuma as president. Alahapperuma served as media minister in Rajapaksa’s cabinet for more than two years and was part of the SLPP government blamed for driving the country into its worst economic crisis since independence. Public protests against Wickremesinghe were particularly strong. A six-time prime minister, he became caretaker prime minister in May and was immediately accused of supporting and protecting the Rajapaksa family and, after the president’s resignation, assumed presidential duties without any legitimacy. His private residence was burned down and the prime minister’s house and offices were occupied by protesters last week demanding his resignation. Wickremesinghe sparked further outrage by using his powers as deputy president to declare a state of emergency on Sunday night “in the interest of public safety”. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s economic situation continues to deteriorate, with fuel and cooking gas shortages and more food shortages likely in the future. The new president will also have to oversee a government usually made up of opposing political parties and will rule at a time of political turmoil for the country, with a mass protest movement – known as aragalaya – taking to the streets and calling for political accountability. On Tuesday, across the commercial capital of Colombo, mass demonstrations calling for Wickremesinge’s resignation were planned by students and protest groups.
