Sri Lankan protesters to continue demanding resignation of Wickremesinghe

The antigovernment protesters in Sri Lanka who forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and quit on Wednesday demanded the resignation of his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe who has been elected as the new PresidentThe 73yearold Acting President and sixtime former prime minister secured 134 votes in the 225member House while his nearest rival and dissident ruling party leader Dullas Alahapperuma got 82 He will take the oath of office on ThursdayThe antigovernment protesters had called for the resignation of Wickremesinghe who was appointed prime minister in May The protesters burnt down his private home and also stormed his prime ministerial office in Colombo in demonstrations against his leadership early this monthAlso Read Sri Lankan lawmakers elect Ranil Wickremesinghe as new presidentHe has been elected against the will of the people The Rajapaksas have brought him in Father Jeewantha Peiris a spokesman for the protest group Aragalaya told reportersWe will continue our protest campaign until Wickremesinghe resignsiquest he stressedMeanwhile Colombo Fort Magistrate Thilina Gamage issued an order barring people from entering or gathering within a 50 meter radius of the Bandaranaike Statue located in Galle Face in the heart of ColomboSri Lanka Police told the court that there is a possible attempt being made to cause harm to the statue of the former prime minister which is situated closer to the protest site near the office of the presidentThe protesters had blocked one entrance to the presidential office on April 9 Although the protesters did vacate three other key government buildings after Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned last week they continue to be at the presidential office gateWickremesinghe did refer to the demands of the protesters after accepting his office and called for bipartisanship to address the issues raised by them including the handling of the economyRajapaksa was ousted for his mishandling of the economy when the island suffered its worst meltdown since 1948The economic crisis also sparked a political crisis in the country after a popular uprising against the governmentSri Lanka needs about USD 5 billion in the next six months to cover basic necessities for its 22 million people who have been struggling with long queues worsening shortages and power cutsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever