Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the new President of Sri Lanka, who has taken the title of the interim president from the prime minister.
Ranil was elected president by voting in Parliament on Wednesday, who won 134 out of 225 parliamentary votes, with the new president who will replace Gotabata Rajapaksa.
On Wednesday morning, Parliament Secretary General Dhammika Dasanak started voting in secret ballots after the quorum bell rang.
The three candidates are interim President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Dulas Alahaperuma of the ruling party and Anu Kumar Dissanak of the left-wing Janata Vimukti Peramuna (JVP) party.
Among them, Ranil Wickremesinghe got 134 votes, his nearest rival, Dulas Alahperuma, got 82 votes while Anu Kumar Dissanatek got 3 votes.
The elected new president will serve as the successor of Gotabata Rajapaksa until November 2024.
