Sri Lanka's new President Wickremesinghe to swear in Cabinet on Friday

Sri Lankas new President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to swear in his Cabinet on Friday comprising members of the previous government including Dinesh Gunewardena who will be the next prime ministerThe previous Cabinet will function till a national government is agreed upon once Parliament convenes and then a Cabinet reshuffle will take placeWickremesinghe 73 who was on Thursday sworn in as the countrys eighth president after he won a parliamentary ballot has called for bipartisanship to address the unprecedented economic crisis the country is facingThe Leader of the House in the Sri Lankan Parliament 73yearold Gunewardena will be the new prime minister He was appointed as Home Minister in April by then President Gotabaya RajapaksaA stalwart of Sri Lankan politics Gunawardena has also served as the foreign minister and education ministerOfficials said Wickremesinghe would try to form an allparty government to overcome the current economic crisis the worst since the countrys independence in 1948Wickremesinghe a sixtime former prime minister was elected by lawmakers on Wednesday in a rare move that could provide continuity for crucial discussions with the IMF for a bailout deal for the cashstrapped nationWickremesinghe will have a mandate to serve out the rest of Rajapaksas term which ends in November 2024Meanwhile a group of protesters who had camped opposite the prime ministers official residence since April end said they were ending the protestThere was a debate that we should respect the Constitution and stop this protest a spokesman for the group saidHowever the main protest group which had camped blocking the entry to the Presidents Office since April 9 said they would continue their struggle till Wickremesinghe resignedOur victory would come only when we are able to form the peoples Assembly Lahiru Weerasekera a spokesman for the group saidWickremesinghe told reporters that he intends to take legal action against those who continue to occupy the Presidents OfficeWickremesinghe said he would extend support to the peaceful protesters but would be tough on those who try to promote violence in the guise of peaceful protestsMeanwhile tense scenes were reported from the Galle Face protest site during the early hours of Friday after a large military contingent swooped in the areaColombos Galle Face is the epicentre of protests that rocked the country as the economic and political crisis hit Sri LankaTroops were seen detaining individuals and also dismantling the protest site the Daily Mirror newspaper saidRajapaksa was forced to flee the country on July 9 when a popular uprising due to his mishandling of the economy dealt the final blow After holding on since April despite the massive protests Rajapaksa resigned in exile in SingaporeThis 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