The call for nominations for the vacant presidential seat after the resignation of former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and for electing a successor president for the remainder of the former president’s term is scheduled to be called today according to the constitution and powers of the speaker.
Currently, there has been talking outside the Parliament about the names of four candidates, but legally, after the submission of the nominations in front of the Speaker today, the legitimacy of the candidature will be given to those candidates and the people will also officially know who those candidates are.
After the submission of nominations today (19), the candidate who obtains a 50% majority of the 225 members of parliament (including the speaker) in a secret ballot of the parliament tomorrow is scheduled to serve as the next president for the next few years.
Earlier in 1993, a secret ballot was also held for the appointment of Mr. Dingiri Banda Wijetunga as Acting President after the death of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa. But at that time Mr. Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was presented as a candidate by the ruling party (UNP).
Meanwhile, a special security program and a program on traffic movement in the Parliament and its surrounding areas are in operation today (19) and tomorrow (20). At present, a state of emergency has been declared in the country and recently Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the security forces have been assigned to use maximum force to control the rising riots and riots.
Also, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Shavendra Silva, made a statement and said that the public should obey the decisions taken by the political authority following the constitution and the law to create political stability in the country, which is necessary to get rid of the economic crisis that the country is facing at present and not to interfere with those activities illegally and if such an incident occurs, the security forces will have to use the maximum force required to protect the law and order of the country according to the regular powers and orders are given in the Constitution.
