Sri Lanka’s interim president on Monday renewed the state of emergency in the country ahead of parliamentary elections to nominate a new head of state, which has rightly made him one of the main candidates.
Ranil Wickremesinghe automatically became interim president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned after fleeing to Singapore last week.
The state of emergency allows soldiers to arrest suspects and the president to pass regulations that overturn existing laws to deal with any popular uprising.
It was already in effect, but the Parliament did not meet to approve its declaration, as it should have. The interim chairman, Wickremesinghe, said Monday he extended it “in the interest of public safety”.
Police and military tightened security ahead of Wednesday’s vote to elect a president for the remainder of Rajapaksa’s term, which will expire in November 2024.
Wickremesinghe, who has served as prime minister six times, has the support of Rajapaksa’s party to maintain that position.
After months of protests due to the worst economic and political crisis in Sri Lankan history, protesters stormed Rajapaksa’s palace on July 9, forcing him to flee.
The severe economic crisis has caused Sri Lanka to default on US$51 billion in foreign debt and is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout deal.
However, the negotiations caused political turmoil. An IMF spokesperson said on Thursday that the IMF hopes the issue will be resolved before resuming negotiations.
The South Indian island of 22 million people is running out of fuel, so the government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce transportation.
source: Noticias
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