For Lankans, Ranil is not the real deal

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s election as Sri Lanka’s eighth Executive President is likely to plunge the island into another wave of protests. He is widely seen as a ‘Rajapaksa ally’ and his election on Wednesday by Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians has not gone down well with protesters. Wickremesinghe was appointed Prime Minister by Gotabaya Rajapaksa in May and became interim President when Gotabaya resigned after fleeing the country last week. To the hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans who have been out on the streets since March demanding the exit of the Rajapaksas from power, Wickremesinghe is a Rajapaksa stand-in, someone who will protect the interests of the family.

Indeed, it was the support of the Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) that propelled him to victory on Wednesday; he secured 134 votes while his nearest rival, Dullas Alahapperuma, a dissident SLPP MP, won 82 votes, most of them from the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). Other than Gotabaya, who fled to Singapore last week, MPs of the Rajapaksa family were out in full force for the voting in parliament on Wednesday. This, and Wickremesinghe’s massive victory, signal that the Rajapaksa family’s grip over power remains strong. But the exit of the Rajapaksas has been the main demand of the protesters. They were able to drive Gotabaya out of the presidency and the island. However, Wednesday’s vote shows they have not been able to fully loosen the family’s grip on the island’s politics. A fresh wave of protests will likely target not only Wickremesinghe but also SLPP MPs.

As President, Wickremesinghe’s first task will be to appoint a new Prime Minister and Cabinet. Forming a unity government will provide it stability. He will then have to turn his attention to the economic crisis. He is close to the western powers and has experience in dealing with the IMF. These will be useful in addressing the economic crisis. However, the IMF insists on political stability before it releases funds. With unrest likely to intensify in the weeks ahead, Wickremesinghe could turn to the security forces to stamp out the protests. He has already imposed an Emergency. But the use of force to deal with public anger will amount to pouring fuel on a raging fire. He should instead move to gain public trust by amending the constitution to abolish the executive presidency and empower parliament. All his predecessors had promised to do so, only to backtrack when they came into the office. The only way Wickremesinghe can hope to govern the country now is by taking visible steps to strengthen Sri Lanka’s democracy.