Ranil Wickremesinghe elected as 9th President of Sri Lanka

• Highlights:
• Veteran Sri Lankan politician and six-time Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe has been elected as the 9th President of the Island nation by the Parliament. 
• He secured 134 votes in the presidential election by the 225-member parliament.
• The 73-year-old Wickremesinghe will serve the remaining term of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, which ends in 2024.

• ANTI-INCUMBENCY
• The first major challenge for Ranil Wickremesinghe would be to quell protests and overcome the anti-incumbency among the public. Ever since the agitation in Sri Lanka began, the protesters have been constantly demanding his resignation first as the Prime Minister and then as the acting President, after he was handpicked by his predecessor for the post.
• The protesters see him as someone close to the previous dispensation and hold him responsible as well for the current economic crisis. 
• His ascent to the President's post could spur the protesters to intensify protests.
• ABSENCE OF A BAILOUT PACKAGE
• Sri Lanka's external debt amounts to a staggering amount of nearly $51 billion. Wickremesinghe's first task in office would be to convince the International Monetary Fund to provide a bailout package. But the task would not be easy as the IMF has said that Sri Lanka would have to work a lot more on its debt restructuring and implement anti-corruption measures before such a package is finalised.
• CRIPPLING FUEL SHORTAGE
• With queues outside fuel stations increasing, the fuel shortage in Sri Lanka has crippled the island nation. In late June, the shortage forced the government to ban the sale of petrol and diesel for vehicles engaged in non-essential services for two weeks. The shortage pushed up the prices of fuel in Sri Lanka to record highs.
• However, the prices were revised on July 17. The government's Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) reduced the price of Petrol Octane 92 by 20 Sri Lankan Rupees to 450 Sri Lankan Rupees a litre. The price of Petrol Octane 95 was reduced by 10 rupees to 540 rupees a litre while the cost of Super Diesel was cut by 10 rupees to 520 rupees per litre. Auto Diesel's price was reduced by 20 rupees to 440 rupees.
• DWINDLING FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES
• According to the government's estimates, Sri Lanka's foreign exchange reserves can pay for imports for barely three months. The government has taken some steps like limiting US Dollar transactions and imports of farm chemicals, vehicles, and spices. But imports still amount to more than the value of the island nation's exports of tea, rubber, etc. Wickremesinghe would have to balance replenishment of Sri Lanka's foreign exchange reserve with debt restructuring and payoffs.
• Tourism is one of Sri Lanka's biggest foreign currency earners, providing jobs to nearly 3 million and accounting for over 5% of its GDP. 
  
• CHINA'S DEBT TRAP
• Coming out of China's debt trap would be an uphill task for Wickremesinghe. Sri Lanka owes over $7 billion to China's banks and other entities, way more than what it needs in a bailout package. The debt mounted up as China claimed to invest in the country with the intention of boosting its economy through infrastructure projects.
• Sri Lanka also owes nearly $25 billion to private sector bond investors. On top of this, China refused to waive the loans to Sri Lanka but offered more money, seemingly to pay off its debts but in reality piling up on the debt trap.