UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will swear in as the next Prime Minister this evening before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
President Rajapaksa had several rounds of discussions with Mr Wickrmemsinghe before the decision. Mr Wickremesinghe is the only member of Parliament representing the UNP.
The UNP faced a crushing defeat at the 2020 General Election reducing the party to a single national list seat.
Wickremesinghe entered Parliament nearly one year after the election. The Election Commission allocated a national list seat for the UNP on the strength of the total number of votes they received islandwide.
Mr Wickrmemsinghe may have to prove that he commands the confidence of a majority in Parliament in case there is a No-Confidence Motion against him.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has written to the President today expressing his willingness to accept the government under the condition that the President leaves within a stipulated period.
