Mid term elections will be held in the Sri Lanka after a dramatic takeover of the presidential palace by protestors here last week. Sri Lankan military has been told by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to do “whatever is necessary to restore order”, after the protesters stormed his office.
What has been happening in Sri Lanka?
Protests started in the capital in April and have gradually spread to the entire country. Unrest has risen over the tremendous amount of debt, and rising inflation. Moreover, extremely high fuel price in the country has only escalated the situation. People have been lining up outside drying gas stations, as the reserves of these gas stations have dried up. Sri Lanka doesn’t have fuel for essential services like buses, trains, and medical vehicles. Officials say they do not have enough foreign currency to import fuel.
This caused prices of petrol & diesel to rise exponentially. The government banned the sale of fuel petrol and diesel for non – essential vehicles late last month. Schools are now closed and people are working from home to help conserve fuel.
Political Landscape in the Country
On the political front, President Rajapaksa resigned and fled to Singapore. Before stepping down, he made PM Ranil Wickremsinghe acting president.
Mr. Wickremsinghe declared a state of emergency across the country and imposed a curfew as well. On Wednesday, protestors stormed his office and called for his resignation.
What is the future?
The country owes $51bn to foreign lenders, including approximately $6.5bn to China. It has now started discussions to restructure these loans. A stable government need to be in place to raise interest rates and taxes to help fund various deals. The G7 group of countries, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK & the United States of America have lent their support to reduce its debt repayments.
The world bank has agreed to lend $600M, and India reported to have offered at least $1.9bn. Additionally, presidential elections will be held in the country via secret ballot in the near future. The leaders are in continuous discussions with the Speaker of the Sri Lankan parliament to decide future course of action.
