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Ranil wins by majority of 52 votes, garnering 134 votes as against 82 polled by Dullas

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JVP’s Anura a distant third with just three votes

By Saman Indrajith

Ranil Wickremesinghe was yesterday elected the eighth Executive President by a majority of 52 MPs in Parliament. He received 134 votes, while other two candidates, Dullas Alahapperuma and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, received 82 and three votes, respectively.

As per the provisions of the Presidential Elections (special provisions) Act No 2 of 1978, at a secret vote in the House, the MPs voted to elect a succeeding President to fill in the post left vacant after the premature forced resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week.

Voting started at 10.23 am and ended at 11.44 am. Before voting began, Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Dasanayake, who acted as the Returning Officer during the election, showed the empty ballot box to the members, before sealing it.

Names of each MP were called for voting by the Secretary General, on a basis of the division list.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena commenced the voting process by casting his vote. Acting President Wickremesinghe was the second to cast his vote. Digamadulla SLPP MP D Weerasinghe and SLPP Kurunegala District MP Samanpriya Herath were indisposed but they came to Parliament to vote. Three SLPP MPs, Kanaka Herath, Arundika Fernando and P. Jayasekera had returned from overseas to cast their votes.

The counting of votes commenced around 11.51 am. Speaker Abeywardena announced that the three candidates could monitor the counting of the votes or they could nominate a representative. The Speaker informed no mobile phones would be permitted during the counting.

Accordingly, Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe nominated MP Harin Fernando while Dullas Alahapperuma nominated MP Dillan Perera and Anura Kumara Dissanayake nominated MP Vijitha Herath to monitor the counting process.

Only 223 MPs out of 225 member-house voted in the election. TNA MPs Selvarasa Kajendran and GG Ponnambalam abstained from voting. At the announcement of the results, Secretary General Dhammika Dasanayake said that four votes were discarded as they were invalid owing to errors.



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Senior Journalist Victor Ivan passes away

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Victor Ivan,  former editor of the Raavaya newspaper has passed away . He was 75 at the time of his demise.

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Landslide early warnings issued to the district of Badulla , Kandy , Kurunegala and Matale

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The National Building Research Organization [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Kandy, Kurunegala and Matale at 0800 hrs today valid until 0800hrs on Monday 20th January 2025.

Accordingly,

Level II [Amber] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Ududumbara in the Kandy district and Rattota, Yatawatta, Ukuwela and Wilgamuwa in the Matale district.

Level I [Yellow] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Badulla, Passara and Hali Ela in the Badulla district, Meda Dumbara, Phatha Dumbara and Doluwa in the Kandy district and Laggala Pallegama, Ambanganga Korale, Pallepola, Naula and Matale in the Matale district

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It is the Government’s intention to provide justice to the grieving people – Prime Minister

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Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya said that it is the Government’s intention to provide justice to the people who are deprived of the same due to rewards and sponsorships.

The Premier made this statement at the occasion of handing over the renovated Court of Appeal building to the public on Saturday (18). The renovations was a donation from the  People’s Republic of China.

Further she mentioned that the investment made in a country’s judicial system and in the provision of facilities for the delivery of justice to the people is a reflection of the commitment made towards the country and its people. “This is not just a building, but a symbol of the delivery of justice, fairness of law, equality and dignity. Our country has suffered for decades because many were denied justice under systems of rewards and sponsorships. Our intention is to resolve those deficiencies, bring forth fairness and ensure that everyone has access to justice”, she added.

“The people must be able to keep trust and rely on the judicial system by exemplifying that the legal powers granted to judges by the Constitution are exercised fairly and providing independent and fair judgment to the parties concerned. Everyone, including women, children and the disabled community, expects justice. Their aspiration is that such a system will ensure that no one faces hardships, an attention will be paid to their mental conditions, protection from the consequences they may face when seeking justice for them or defending their rights. All actors in this process must be treated with respect. There are people who have faced hardships for years in the pursuit of justice. We ensure that they are treated fairly. They should not be subjected to intimidation, harassment or threat in the pursuit of justice”, the Premier highlighted.

The Prime Minister  further expressed her gratitude to the People’s Republic of China for their generosity and support.

A group of invitees including the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong, Chief Justice Murdu Fernando and many others participated in this event.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]

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