Sri Lanka will elect a new president on July 20th as the country deals with the worst crisis in the time since independence from Britain in 1948. Sri Lanka’s embattled president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, officially resigned from his position on July 14th, 2 days after fleeing the country on a military jet. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also said he will step down.
Speaking to the press on July 11th, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Party said that, “We as the opposition are ready to stabilize the country and rebuild the economy”. His statement echoed the words of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who, according to Reuters, had previously called for a smooth transition between governments and “sustainable solutions” to the economic turmoil.
Premadasa went on to say that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Party would “appoint a new president, [a] prime minister and form a government.”
Protesters had previously stormed the homes of both the President and the Prime Minister, and they set the Prime Minister’s private home on fire on July 9. “We are not going anywhere until this president leaves and we have a government that is acceptable to the people,” one protestor, Jude Hansana, told Reuters on the 11th.
Meanwhile it is assumed that the downfall of the Rajapaksa government, whose term was supposed to last until 2024, will interfere with negotiations with the IMF, further damaging the economy and the Sri Lankan people. It is imperative that the Sri Lankan government carry out the people’s will by appointing a new government but also by maintaining open lines of communication with key international actors like the IMF, the World Bank, and the United Nations. This would ensure continuity of government and maintain Sri Lanka’s international standing.
Sri Lanka’s economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism, has taken a huge hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a ban on chemical fertilizers, which was later reversed, damaged the agriculture sector. Increases in debt as well as large tax breaks given out by the Rajapaksa government have also crippled government finances. Foreign currency reserves were also depleted as oil prices continued to rise, and fuel has been severely rationed. Inflation has gone past 54% according to Reuters and Sri Lanka’s central bank has warned it could rise to 70% in the coming months.
Many in Sri Lanka have run out of food, fuel, and other daily essentials.
Amid this political, economic, and social chaos, it is vital that both domestic Sri Lankan actors and key international players like the IMF focus on the needs of the people of the country, rather than on politics. Sri Lankans will only continue to suffer as this crisis continues; these political actors must work together as swiftly as possible both to enforce the Sri Lankan people’s mandate on the end of the Rajapaksa government and to end the crisis.
