Sri Lankan lawmakers voted acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new president on Wednesday, hoping he would pull the country out of a crippling economic and political crisis.
"Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the eighth executive president under the constitution," the secretary general of parliament said after counting finished.
The win for Wickremesinghe, opposed by many ordinary Sri Lankans, could lead to more demonstrations by people furious with the ruling elite after months of severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines, several protesters have said.
The other main candidate, ruling party lawmaker Dullas Alahapperuma, was more acceptable to the protesters and the opposition but did not have any top-level governance experience in a country with barely any dollars for imports and desperately in need of an IMF bailout.
The 225-member parliament gave 134 votes to Wickremesinghe and 82 to Alahapperuma. A third candidate, Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, got just three votes.
Trump says Iran war deal close as Strait of Hormuz tensions linger
Fire breaks out at New Zealand's Wellington airport, disrupting flights
Ukraine and Russia trade overnight drone strikes, officials say
UN says Taliban arrest 30 women for violating hijab rules in Afghanistan
Trump cancels US strikes on Iran, citing progress in talks
South Korea court sentences ex-President Yoon to 30-year jail term in drone case
Thai king's eldest daughter dies, aged 47, after long illness
US confirms third strike on Indian-crewed tankers this week
