Sri Lanka Crisis: Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath as the President - WATCH

New Delhi: Ranil Wickremesinghe took oath as the President of Sri Lanka at the parliament complex on Thursday (July 21, 2022) after his victory in a parliament vote to choose a new president for the South Asian country. Wickremesinghe was sworn-in as Sri Lanka's eighth president today morning and will appoint a new prime minister within the course of the day. 

#WATCH Ranil Wickremesinghe takes oath as the President of Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/xo0txXR0ct — ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2022

Wickremesinghe, 73, was sworn in at the Parliament complex before Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. Veteran politician Ranil Wickremesinghe will face the tough task of leading the country out of its economic crisis and restoring order after months of mass protests.

Wickremesinghe took oath as the Acting President after his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapksa fled the country and resigned last week, is the first Sri Lankan president to be elected by Parliament following a vote.

A Cabinet of 20-25 members will be appointed within the next few days to serve under President Wickremesinghe, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

Earlier, on Wednesday, President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed gratitude to the three armed forces and the police who performed their duties in the security affairs of the Parliament in the past few days.