Iran Press/ Asia: The six-time prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as president of Sri Lanka, which is in the grip of a dire economic crisis that has sparked massive protests.
Wickremesinghe, 73, took his oath of office before chief justice Jayantha Jayasuriya at the tightly guarded parliament complex on Thursday, a statement from his office said.
Wickremesinghe won 134 votes in the 225-member parliament in a vote count on Wednesday, after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned last week amid growing calls for his ouster.
Sri Lanka's police chief and top military brass stood behind the new president as the oath was administered in the presence of parliamentary speaker Mahinda Abeywardana.
The brief ceremony was due to be broadcast live on local television but was cut off just before the swearing-in got underway. Officials said an investigation into the unexpected breakdown had been launched.
Sri Lankan president flees country amid severe protests
Political sources said Wickremesinghe would invite all parties to join a cabinet of 30 ministers to steer the country out of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.
"There will be a few MPs from the main opposition joining the cabinet," a source close to Wickremesinghe said, adding that he was keen to ensure a rainbow coalition.
Former President Rajapaksa appointed Wickremesinghe as prime minister in May, hoping to bring stability to the country engulfed in a crisis that has left its 22 million people struggling with shortages of essentials, including medicine, fuel, and food.
And the resulting political crisis has left worries about whether a new government will be enough to fix the economy and alleviate a public fury at its leaders.
Protesters who stormed Rajapaksa's palace and toppled him earlier this month have accused Wickremesinghe of being a proxy of the once-powerful family.
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