Colombo: Six-time Prime Minister and acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as President on Wednesday of Sri Lanka - a post that has eluded him despite a near-half-century political career - in extraordinary circumstances of a political turmoil sparked by the island nation's economic collapse.
The incumbent Wickremesinghe won 134 votes in the 225-member Parliament, securing a comfortable victory margin in a three-horse race.
Dullas Alahapperuma, who was earlier aligned with the Rajapaksa and is now an independent MP, bagged 82 votes, despite several independent lawmakers, the main opposition, and most minority parties pledging to support him on Tuesday.
The leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna's candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake managed to win just three votes, while two MPs abstained from the vote.
It is to be noted that a candidate needs to secure at least 113 votes in order to get elected as the President.
After the declaration of the election results, his rivals said that they have accepted the mandate.
It is worth mentioning that while he won the elections, he will continue to serve the rest of Rajapaksa's term, which is scheduled to end in November 2024.
Meanwhile, Wickremesinghe urged all the political parties to set aside their differences and come together to bring the country's economy back on track and take it forward on the developmental path.
"The time for division is over," Wickremesinghe said in his first remarks after clinching the Presidency.
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