Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath, returns as PM of crisis-hit Sri Lanka

Colombo: Sri Lanka's opposition lawmaker Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as the next Prime Minister of the country on Thursday. With the country's largest opposition party refusing to join a government under the presidency of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe — a four-time Prime Minister of the country — remained the only option.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa has defied calls to resign, pledging instead to form a new government after violent clashes this week left eight people dead in an escalation of a months-long crisis over food and fuel shortages. His brother Mahinda Rajapaksa had quit as Prime Minister leading to the dissolution of the Cabinet, leaving no government in place to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund and creditors on $8.6 billion of debt due this year. President Rajapaksa had said to "control the current situation, and prevent the country from heading towards anarchy", he would appoint a Prime Minister and Cabinet "that can command a majority in Parliament and can gain the confidence of the people of the country".

Anti-government protesters also want President Rajapaksa to step down and the Lankan Parliament is expected to debate a no-confidence motion against the President on May 17, the Speaker's Office has said.

Wickremesinghe was in October 2018 fired from the post of Prime Minister by the then President Maithripala Sirisena. However, he was reinstalled as the PM by Sirisena after two months.

Members of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), a section of the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and several other parties have expressed their support to show a majority for Wickremesinghe in Parliament, sources said.

The UNP, the oldest party in the country, had failed to win a single seat from districts, including Wickremesinghe who contested from the UNP stronghold Colombo in 2020 parliamentary polls.

He later found his way to Parliament through the sole national list allocated to the UNP on the basis of cumulative national vote. His deputy Sajith Premadasa had led the breakaway SJB and became the main Opposition.

Wickremesinghe is widely accepted as a man who could manage the economy with far-sighted policies and is perceived as the Sri Lankan politician who could command international cooperation.

Meanwhile, a Sri Lankan court on Thursday issued a travel ban on erstwhile Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, his son Namal Rajapaksa and 15 others. Mahinda is currently under protection at the Trincomalee naval base. The Fort Magistrate's Court barred them from travelling overseas due to the investigations taking place on the attacks on the GotaGoGama and MynaGoGama peaceful protest sites on Monday. At least nine people were killed and over 300 others were injured in the violence.

The magisterial order came as a response to a request by the police's criminal investigation division which is conducting the investigations into Monday's violence. The court issued the bans on 13 legislators representing the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), including Johnston Fernando, Sanath Nishantha, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, C B Ratnayake, and Sanjeewa Edirimanne.

Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) of the Western Province Deshabandu Tennakoon is also on the list of people who need to remain in the country for investigations into the violence.