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Sri Lanka’s acting president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, late on Sunday ordered a state of emergency in an attempt to prevent unrest ahead of Parliament’s vote this week to elect a new president.
Sri Lanka’s leaders have declared a state of emergency several times since April when protests against the government began due to the economic crisis and lack of essential supplies.
“It is therefore appropriate that it be done in the interest of public safety, the protection of public order and the maintenance of essential supplies and services for the life of the community“, it was said in the announcement.
Wickremesinghe announced the state of emergency last week after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country amid protests against his government, but the state of emergency had not been officially declared.
Previous state of emergency regulations have been used to put the army on the streets to arrest people, search private property and suppress protests.
In Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, the situation was calm on Monday, after weeks of mass protests.
President Rajapaksa left last week for the Maldives and then Singapore after hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Colombo and occupied the offices of government officials.
On Friday, Parliament accepted Rajapaksa’s resignation and is expected to convene this week to elect a new president. Voting for the president is expected to be held on Wednesday, July 20.
Wickremesinghe, a six-time prime minister and considered an ally of Rajapaksa, is one of the leading contenders for the presidency, but protesters have said they do not want him elected president, warning of protests and riots if he is elected.
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