Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lanka PM

Colombo: Wickremesinghe’s victory in Monday’s election thwarted a political comeback by the country’s former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa, months after he lost the presidential polls to President Maithripala Sirisena.

Immediately after the swearing in ceremony, the two main parties — Wickremesinghe’s United National Party (UNP) and Sirisena’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) — sealed a Memorandum of Understanding which paved the way for the setting up of a national unity government.

Political rival of both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe – former President Mahinda Rajapaksa — was also present during the ceremony. Both Sirisena and Wickremesinghe shook hands with the former strongman.

Wickremesinghe party won 106 seats, seven short of a majority in the 225-member parliament. President Sirisena’s SLFP will provide numbers from his opposition group to Wickremesinghe to set up the national unity government.