Analysis: Political turmoil could hinder any chance of tackling the ongoing economic crisis

On Thursday morning, 45 years to the day since he was first elected to parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the eighth president of Sri Lanka, replacing the ousted and exiled Gotabaya Rajapaksa. His path to executive power – the office Wickremesinghe has clamoured after for so many years – was extraordinary. As a searing editorial in Sri Lanka’s Daily FT newspaper put it on Thursday morning: “Wickremesinghe has no popular mandate and he has won the presidency by proxy.”

Many believe Wickremesinghe’s election, far from stabilising Sri Lanka after the toppling of Rajapaksa, will instead create ongoing turmoil and unrest. For a country grappling with the worst economic crisis since the great depression, the consequences could be severe.

MPs pick ex-PM seen as close to ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a move likely to frustrate protesters

Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been elected as president to replace the ousted Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a result that is likely to provoke turmoil among protesters who have been calling for weeks for him to resign.

Wickremesinghe, who has been prime minister six times but never president, won a comfortable victory in parliament on Wednesday morning, where MPs voted for the new president in an unprecedented secret ballot. The vote came after protesters forced Rajapaksa from office amid anger over a spiralling economic crisis.

Profile: Six-time PM may be unacceptable to many of the same protesters who forced out predecessor

There are few who have been stalwarts of Sri Lankan politics in the last half-century quite like the man often referred to as “the fox”.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, 73, who gained his nickname for his apparently wily ability to repeatedly resurrect his political career, has been prime minister six times since he first entered politics in 1977, though he has famously never completed a term.

Ranil Wickremesinghe to serve until MPs vote for new leader next week after months of protests over economic crisis

Sri Lanka’s prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been sworn in as the country’s interim president after Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially resigned on Friday morning following months of protests.

Rajapaksa’s resignation came after a dramatic week in which the beleaguered leader fled the country under the cover of darkness, after his presidential palace and offices were stormed by protesters last weekend.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled country on Wednesday after protesters occupied presidential palace

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has resigned as president of Sri Lanka a day after fleeing weeks of mass protests over the country’s economic crisis.

Rajapaksa’s office said his resignation letter had been received by the country’s parliamentary speaker, after it was flown from Singapore, to where the leader had fled via the Maldives.

Prime minister as well as Rajapaksa will step down after months of protests culminated in attacks on their homes

Sri Lanka’s main opposition parties have hurriedly moved to form an all-party unity government a day after the president and the prime minister said they would resign from office after mounting public pressure.

On Sunday, leaders from the main opposition political parties met to discuss an effective transition of power, following the much anticipated resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 13 July.

Beleaguered Gotabaya Rajapaksa says he will step down on 13 July, following turmoil in Colombo

The Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has agreed to resign after a dramatic day during which his house and offices were stormed by protesters and the home of the prime minister set on fire.

In a late-night message conveyed through the parliamentary speaker, Mahinda Yapa, the beleaguered president said he would step down from power on 13 July to “ensure a peaceful transition of power”.

The inside story of Rajapaksa family infighting that toppled a country into violence and bankruptcy

Dilith Jayaweera can still recall the moment he realised Sri Lanka was hurtling, unstoppably, towards financial ruin.

It was around October 2021 and Jayaweera, a Sri Lankan media magnate and close friend of the Sri Lankan president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had invited Basil Rajapaksa, the president’s younger brother, who was also the finance minister, to join him for dinner.