Asia | In with the old

Sri Lanka picks a new president to replace the one that fled

Ranil Wickremesinghe must fix a mess which many think is partly his fault

Protesters shout slogans demanding acting president and prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resign in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
|COLOMBO

Ranil wickremesinghe is a familiar sight to anyone who has taken even a passing interest in Sri Lankan politics in recent decades. First elected to Parliament in 1977, he has held a variety of cabinet jobs over the years, including, on six occasions, that of prime minister. His most recent stint was in the service of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose tenure as president came to an ignominious end on July 14th when he tendered his resignation by email from Singapore, having fled the country in the dead of night the day before.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “In with the old”

ESG: Three letters that won’t save the planet

From the July 23rd 2022 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Asia

Protesters wear Taiwan People's Party former chairman Ko Wen-je's masks to protest against the perceived judicial injustice

Taiwan’s political drama is paralysing its government

Domestic dysfunction plays right into China’s hands

A man wears a Australian flag and a cork hat on Australia Day

An angry culture war surrounds Australia Day

Conservatives claim that wokeness is destroying the national holiday


Stills from Gayrat Dustov's video tirade on social media

The fate of a ranting driver raises doubts about the “new” Uzbekistan

It seems free speech is not so guaranteed after all


Indian politicians are becoming obsessed with doling out cash

Handouts are transforming the role of the state—perhaps for the worse

How to end the nightmare of Asia’s choked roads

The middle classes love cars but hate traffic

Can Donald Trump maintain Joe Biden’s network of Asian alliances?

Discipline and creativity will help, but so will China’s actions