Presidential contest between Ranil and Sajith

Colombo, The presidential election has begun in Sri Lanka amid the ongoing economic crisis and political turmoil. Parliament met on Saturday as well as nominations began after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned and Ranil Wickremesinghe became the acting president. Ranil Wickremesinghe filed his nomination for the President’s post on behalf of the ruling party and Sajith Premadasa on behalf of the opposition. Apart from these two, Anura Kumara Disanayake and Dulas Alhapparuma filed their nominations. The presidential election will be held on July 20. The main match will be between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sajith Premadasa.

The resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was read out in a special session of Parliament on Saturday. Rajapaksa wrote in his resignation – I have served my motherland to the best of my ability and will continue to do so in future also. We took steps like forming an all-party government to deal with the economic slowdown. Rajapaksa blamed Corona and the lockdown for the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, the World Food Program has reported that six million people in Sri Lanka are facing a food crisis. Due to the acute shortage of foreign exchange in the country, the government is unable to import essential items from abroad. There is such a shortage of fuel that people have to wait for two days to get petrol and diesel filled. However, after 44 years in Sri Lanka, the President will be elected through secret ballot. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abhaywardene said that the presidential election will be held on July 20 in the 225-member parliament.