Nominations for office of President accepted today (July 19)

Parliament of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s Parliament is meeting at 10:00 AM today (July 19) to accept nominations for the office of President which remains vacant following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week.

The Secretary-General of Parliament, Dhammika Dasanayake is calling nominations for the vote in the House to elect a new President, pursuant to the provisions of the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act, No. 02 of 1981.

A parliamentary vote is scheduled for tomorrow (July 20) to elect a Member of Parliament, who is qualified to be elected to as the President of Sri Lanka, to hold office for the unexpired period of the term of office of the President vacating office.

Four frontrunners including Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe have already entered the race to become the next President of the country. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Dullas Alahapperuma, Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Sajith Premadasa and National People’s Power (NPP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake are among the other three contestants.

Sri Lanka’s Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is the oldest of them, embarked on active politics in the mid-1970s representing the United National Party (UNP). He entered the Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1977. Wickremesinghe has been the leader of the UNP since 1994. The 73-year-old has held the office of Prime Minister six times although he never completed a term.