Sri Lankan lawmakers elect Ranil Wickremesinghe as new president
Colombo (PTI): Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday elected as Sri Lanka's new President by Parliament, following a high-voltage political drama which saw his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and resigning after a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the economy.
The 73-year-old six-time prime minister secured 134 votes in the 225-member House while his nearest rival and dissident ruling party leader Dullas Alahapperuma got 82. Leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake secured just three votes.
The new President will have a mandate to serve out the rest of Rajapaksa's term, which ends in November 2024.
Earlier, the voting by secret ballot took place amidst tight security in the wake of the simmering tensions in the island nation triggered by the unprecedented economic and political crisis. In the crucial election, 223 lawmakers voted while two MPs abstained. Four votes were rejected while 219 were declared valid.
This is for the first time in 44 years that Sri Lanka's Parliament has directly elected a president. Presidential elections in 1982, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2019 had elected them by popular vote.
The only previous occasion when the presidency became vacant mid-term was in 1993 when president Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated. DB Wijetunga was unanimously endorsed by Parliament to run the balance of Premadasa's term.
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Eleven Bangladeshis held for infiltrating into 3 Indian states
Kolkata, Aug 11: The Border Security Force (BSF) has apprehended 11 Bangladeshis while they were trying to sneak into the Indian soil during a special drive on the International Borders along West Bengal, Tripura, and Meghalaya with the neighboring country.
Out of the 11 Bangladeshis, two each were nabbed in West Bengal and Tripura while seven others were from the Meghalaya border, the BSF said in a statement issued on Sunday.
"They are being questioned and will be handed over to the police for further legal action," it said.
In order to strengthen security at the International Borders in wake of Independence Day next week, an operational conference, chaired by ADG, BSF, Eastern Command was held at the Force's Kolkata office, the statement said.
"Detailed deliberations were held to further enhance Border control, security and management. Besides, it was decided to continue the close collaboration with counterpart Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB)," it mentioned.
Similarly, close coordination with the border authorities and police, customs is being done to enhance border management was also discussed and strategy worked out.
