The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, one of the two largest forces in the ruling coalition, refused to nominate its candidate for the presidential election or vote on those already on the list, Sri Lankan news portal Ada Derana reported on Saturday, citing party leader Maithripala Sirisena
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2022) The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, one of the two largest forces in the ruling coalition, refused to nominate its candidate for the presidential election or vote on those already on the list, Sri Lankan news portal Ada Derana reported on Saturday, citing party leader Maithripala Sirisena.
Sirisena said that his party will abstain from voting in the presidential election as there are already many candidates who have announced their intention to run, the news portal reported.
Last weekend, Colombo, Sri Lanka's commercial capital, was rocked by thousand-strong protests, caused by public dissatisfaction with the government's inefficiency in fighting the economic crisis. Following the unrest, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, appointed as the acting president, called an emergency meeting of political party leaders, who demanded that both the prime minister and president resign immediately.
The election of the new president of Sri Lanka will be held on July 20 in the country's parliament. The president elected on July 20 will serve as head of state until the expiration of his predecessor's term.
