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Wickremesinghe takes oath, returns as Sri Lanka's PM

Thursday, 12 May 2022


UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has just one seat in the 225-member Parliament, took oath as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka on Monday, after holding closed-door discussions with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday evening.

This comes after the resignation of Mahinda Rajapaksa on Monday, reports The Indian Express.

A Sri Lankan court 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, Reuters quoted media reports as saying.

Meanwhile, 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.