Sri Lanka’s acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe won a vote in parliament on Wednesday to be the country’s next president until 2024.
He takes over from former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa who fled the country last week and resigned after hundreds of thousands of people came out on the streets protesting against his government’s handling of a crippling economic crisis.
Sri Lankans had previously called for Mr. Wickremesinghe to resign as prime minister, with protestors burning down his private home and storming the prime ministerial office in Colombo.
Mr. Wickremesinghe defeated his main rival for the position, Dalus Alahapperuma, with 134 votes to 82.
Following his election, the new leader told MPs that Sri Lanka is “in a very difficult situation, adding “we have big challenges ahead”.
He will be hoping to restore political stability so Sri Lanka can resume negotiations with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout package after talks stalled recently.
But his election may cause further protests with opponents calling on Mr. Wickremesinghe to step down.
He has previously held the role of prime minister six times and has been involved in Sri Lankan politics for 45 years.
