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Pallewatte Gamaralalage Maithripala Yapa Sirisena is a Sri Lankan politician,who served as the seventh President of Sri Lanka from 9 January 2015 to 18 November 2019. Sirisena is Sri Lanka's first president from the North Central Province of the country and does not belong to the traditional Sri Lankan political elite. He is currently a member of parliament from Polonnaruwa.
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Ahamed Naseer Zainulabdeen,MP,,,(commonly known as Naseer Ahamed) is a Sri Lankan politician,Cabinet Minister and a member of the Sri Lankan parliament. He is the former Chief Minister of Eastern Province,Sri Lanka. He is the Deputy Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and succeeded M. N. Abdul Majeed as the Chief Minister on 6 February 2015. Following the mass resignation of the Sri Lankan cabinet in the wake of the 2022 Sri Lankan protests,he was appointed as the Minister of Environment by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 18 April 2022.
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Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 16 November 2019. The incumbent President Maithripala Sirisena's term of office would have ended on 9 January 2020. This was the first Presidential election in Sri Lanka where no sitting president,prime minister or opposition leader was contesting for president. Gotabaya Rajapaksa won this election to Sajith Premadasa.
The President of Sri Lanka is scheduled to be elected by the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 20 July 2022 to complete the remainder of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's term,after his resignation on 14 July. The constitution requires for a successor to be elected within 30 days. Nominations will be selected by 19 July in advance of the election the following day.
2022 Sri Lankan protests are an ongoing mass protests against the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in March 2022. The government was criticized for mismanaging the Sri Lankan economy,leading to a subsequent economic crisis and severe inflation,daily blackouts,and a shortage of fuel,domestic gas,and other essential goods. The main demand of the protesters was the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa and key officials from the Rajapaksa family. Despite the involvement of several opposition parties,most protesters have considered themselves to be apolitical,and some have expressed discontent with the parliamentary opposition. During the protests,protesters chanted slogans such as "go home Gota" and "go home Rajapaksas". The protests have been mainly staged by the general public,with youths playing a major part by carrying out protests at Galle Face Green.
References
- ↑ Cahoon, Ben. "Sri Lankan Provinces from 1988". World Statesmen.org. Retrieved 2 March 2013.