NEW DELHI: Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka, declared his candidacy for contesting the upcoming presidential election taking place on September 21 on Saturday. He made the announcement while addressing a rally in the southern town of Galle.
“My coming today to this town is significant, I declare that I will contest the presidential election having already paid my deposit to do so,” said Wickremesinghe.
The presidential polls would be held on September 21, election commission announced on Friday.
‘Looking for everyone’s support’
“I am looking for everyone’s support having performed the difficult task I undertook two years ago,” Wickremesinghe said referring to the 2022 economic crisis in Srilanka. The South Asian island nation had declared bankruptcy in 2022 and suspended repayments on approximately $83 billion in domestic and foreign loans.
Wickremesinghe became the prime minister of Sri Lanka in May 2022 when tens of thousands protested on streets asking the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign.
After three months of public protest, Rajapaksa resigned and Wickremesinghe became president with Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) support.
With the support of an International Monetary Fund bailout, Wickremesinghe revived the country’s economy, transforming it from negative growth in 2022 to positive growth.
“There is no other way than what we do with the IMF reform programme so everyone must support it to prevent another bankruptcy,” Wickremesinghe said.
SLPP’s splits
Wickremesinghe is currently contesting the presidential election as an independent candidate.
The SLPP has suffered splits with a few supporting Wickremesinghe while another section has aligned with the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
There are expectations that SLPP will soon announce whether they will back Wickremesinghe.
“My coming today to this town is significant, I declare that I will contest the presidential election having already paid my deposit to do so,” said Wickremesinghe.
The presidential polls would be held on September 21, election commission announced on Friday.
‘Looking for everyone’s support’
“I am looking for everyone’s support having performed the difficult task I undertook two years ago,” Wickremesinghe said referring to the 2022 economic crisis in Srilanka. The South Asian island nation had declared bankruptcy in 2022 and suspended repayments on approximately $83 billion in domestic and foreign loans.
Wickremesinghe became the prime minister of Sri Lanka in May 2022 when tens of thousands protested on streets asking the then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign.
After three months of public protest, Rajapaksa resigned and Wickremesinghe became president with Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) support.
With the support of an International Monetary Fund bailout, Wickremesinghe revived the country’s economy, transforming it from negative growth in 2022 to positive growth.
“There is no other way than what we do with the IMF reform programme so everyone must support it to prevent another bankruptcy,” Wickremesinghe said.
SLPP’s splits
Wickremesinghe is currently contesting the presidential election as an independent candidate.
The SLPP has suffered splits with a few supporting Wickremesinghe while another section has aligned with the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
There are expectations that SLPP will soon announce whether they will back Wickremesinghe.