Sri Lanka in crisis: Sajith Premadasa ready to run for president when Rajapaksa steps down
Sajith premadasa
Sajith Premadasa, Sri Lankan opposition leader, said he plans to run for president after Gotabaya Rajapaksa stands down. This comes after his Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party undertook consultations with its allies to secure support for this action. During an interview with the BBC, Premadasa stated that his party and allies concurred that he should "submit my nomination for the position of the leadership." The speaker of parliament declared that legislators would elect the country’s new leader in place of Rajapaksa on July 20, BBC reported.
Premadasa lost the 2019 presidential race and would require the backing of MPs to win. Earlier, the leader of SJB was offered the position of prime minister in April, but he declined, drawing criticism. Ranil Wickremesinghe, his rival, was appointed but said he will also step down to create room for a unity administration.
The SJB leader described the current situationin Sri Lanka as "confused, uncertainty and total anarchy", saying it needs "consensus, consultation, compromise, and coming togetherness."
Watch |Sri Lanka economic crunch: Citizens try to flee country amid crisis
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Premadasa acknowledged the situation, saying there are no easy solutions to this. He added that his party has an economic strategy to get the nation out of this situation and that it would take four to five years to get the economy back on track like in 2019.
Premadasa said, "We are not going to hoodwink the people. We are going, to be frank and present a plan to get rid of Sri Lanka's economic ills."
However, the protesters in Colombo’s Galle Face claim that all the 255 members of the parliament are equally responsible for the current state of the country and demand a new beginning with young and dynamic politicians taking over.
(With inputs from agencies)
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