By Usman Khan

On Wednesday 20^th July acting President won the Sri Lankan Presidential election with a impressive majority against his opponents. In the election held in the Sri Lankan parliament, with its 225 members as the voters, the acting president got 134 of the 219 valid votes a recent SLPP rebel got 82 and the other got three. Voting was held by secret ballot permitted members to vote liberally.

On June 14, the post of President had been vacant since the former President resigned having falling from grace. On July 9, pressurize by a violent agitation former president fled the country to Singapore via Maldives and resigned from Singapore by email on July 14.

As per the constitution, the incumbent Prime Minister started office as Interim President and then as acting President after the former president quitted. Again, as per the law the parliament Speaker asked parliament to elect a President from between its members. The new president will be Sri Lankan President till November 2024 when former president term would have ended in the normal course.

The PM was supported by the single largest party in parliament, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), an outfit of the Rajapaksa clan. The combined opposition led by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) withdrew from the contest at the last moment and pledged support to, a recent SLPP rebel who was expected to divide the SLPP.

However, the opposition candidate failed to split the SLPP, even he was supported by the “chairman” of the party G.L.Peiris. The SLPP had 145 members out of a total House membership of 225. Out of this, a an ample number would have voted for the party candidate the new president as without those votes would not have got 134. This annihilates the pre-poll propaganda that SLPP MPs would desert the party because they feared the wrath of public agitators who had burnt many SLPP MPs’ houses and Prime Minister House.

The agitators who drove former president out had threatened to re-launch the agitation a candidate of the former president party won the election. However, no anxiety took place when the PM won. On July 19, trade unions had called for a general strike to prevent nominations being filed. But the call was ignored and all public services functioned.

The president called the extremists in the Aragalaya fascists who were demanding the resignation of all 225 MPs and a general election to elect a government which would follow their dictates.

The lack of response to the call for agitation was partly due to the fact that the Chief of Defense Staff had warned that disruptors and violent elements would have to bear the responsibility for their misdeeds. The peaceful supporters of the Aragalaya, who were the majority, stayed away, thus isolating the violent elements led by the ultra-leftist Frontline Socialist Party (FSP).

If there was violence on May 9 and July 9, it was mainly happened because the State machinery had collapsed. The then Head of State and Government of former president had lost his senses and failed to activate the law and order machinery. In the absence of orders, the men in uniform were mere spectators, for the most of the time.

The opposition candidates on the other hand, had promised the “Aragalaya” activists that they would go by their agenda, even though the more vocal section had put forth radical left and anti-IMF demands which cannot be implemented by any government.

On Tuesday, it was described that many members of the opposition had begun to feel that due to chaotic economic situation in Sri Lanka, the country needed a stable government under a firm leader who should be in a position to peacefully negotiate with the IMF and the international community for emergency forex injection and debt restructuring.

The domestic supply situation had also improved in the past few days with ships with fuel and cooking gas was to starting to arrive began to the streamlining the distribution system. As acting President, the PM had imposed a State of Emergency to keep materials flowing. That worked, giving confidence to a number of MPs who wanted a government which would work with single-minded decentralization.

After being elected, the incumbent president requested to the opposition to join to steer the country out of the economy disaster. Therefore, all the political stakeholder should work together to pull Sri Lanka out of the crisis. As President and Commander in Chief of the armed forces, he also inspected troops on Wednesday. He swore-in on Thursday in parliament, an institution to which he has been passionately devoted for decades.