Tight security as Sri Lankan MPs meet to elect new president
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Legislators will decide within a week after the former president flees to Singapore to avoid anti-government rallies.
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Security is tight as Sri Lankan MPs meet to elect a new president.
Sri Lanka's parliament convened Saturday to begin the process of electing a new president, as a shipment of petroleum arrived to bring some relief to the crisis-hit country.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned on Wednesday after fleeing to Singapore via the Maldives to avoid anti-government protestors who had occupied his official mansion and offices.
On Saturday, more than 100 police and security officers armed with assault rifles were stationed on the approach road to parliament, manning barricades and a water cannon to quell any protests. There was no evidence of demonstrators as security personnel patrolled another access road to parliament.
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Legislators are set to elect a new president within a week, with six-time Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a Rajapaksa supporter and the lone representative of his party in parliament, swearing in as interim president until then. The speaker of Parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, vowed a quick and open political process.
During a brief session on Saturday, Parliament's secretary general, Dhammika Dasanayake, stated that nominations for the election of the new president would be considered on Tuesday, and if there were more than one candidate, MPs would vote on Wednesday.
On Friday, the resignation of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was accepted, the country's parliamentary speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana announced.
"Gotabaya has legally resigned" with effect from Thursday, Abeywardana told reporters. "I have accepted the resignation," he confirmed.
Earlier this month, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled his official residence in the capital, Colombo, before protesters, who had gathered around the presidential palace, stormed the compound.
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