COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s interim President Ranil Wickremesinghe declared a new state of emergency on Sunday in a bid to avert unrest ahead of parliament’s vote due this week to elect a new president.
Sri Lanka’s leaders have imposed a state of emergency several times since April, as public protests took place to denounce the government’s handling of the economic crisis.
Ranil Wickremesinghe had announced a state of emergency last week after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country to escape an uprising against his government, but the measure had not been officially ratified.
The state of emergency allows the military to arrest and detain individuals, search private property and quell public protests.
According to Bhavani Fonseka, a researcher at the Center for Policy Alternatives, declaring a state of emergency is becoming the government’s default response.
“It has proven ineffective in the past,” she told Reuters.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives and then Singapore last week after hundreds of thousands protested and occupied his official residence and office.
The next head of state will be elected on July 20. Ranil Wickremesinghe, considered an ally of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is one of the main contenders for the full-time presidency.
Sajith Premadasa, leader of the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), is another prominent candidate.
(Reportage Uditha Jayasinghe and Devjyot Ghoshal, French version Elitsa Gadeva, edited by Kate Entringer)
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