Dinesh Gunawardena sworn in as Sri Lanka's new PM

Dinesh Gunawardena has been sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new prime minister, just hours after soldiers and police cleared an anti-government protest site in Colombo.

Gunawardena, a veteran member of the ruling Sri Lanka People’s Front and an ally of the Rajapaksa political family, took the oath of office on Friday before President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was elevated to head of state from his role as prime minister by a vote in parliament on Wednesday.

The event came just hours after security forces raided a protest camp on government grounds in the main city of Colombo and cleared part of it, with at least nine arrests, as the new administration moves to crack down on protesters.

A former minister from the Podujana Peramuna party, Gunawardena took the oath of office in the presence of Wickremesinghe, seated in front of uniformed military officers in a room packed with lawmakers and officials.

The rest of the cabinet is expected to be sworn in later on Friday.

Sri Lanka's crisis, the result of economic mismanagement and the fallout of conflict in Ukraine, sparked months of mass protests and eventually forced then president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country.



PUKmedia