UPDATE - Sri Lanka’s new President Dissanayake set to pick Cabinet

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM RULING PARTY; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - Sri Lanka's newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to pick his Cabinet after he took the oath of office on Monday.

Dissanayake, popular as AKD, is the ninth executive president of the island nation.

The Marxist-leaning Sinhalese politician defeated outgoing President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in the first elections held since Sri Lanka went bankrupt in April 2022.

In the weekend polls, Dissanayake secured more than 5.74 million votes, representing 55.89% of the valid votes, in the run-off presidential elections, defeating Premadasa.

Bimal Rathnayake, a senior aide to the president, told Anadolu that the newly elected president will pick his Cabinet today and the new ministers will take oath on Tuesday.

The number of the minister will be around 15 until a new parliament is elected, he told Anadolu from Colombo.

“The first target of President AKD was peaceful elections which we have achieved and now he wants a peaceful transition of power,” said Rathnayake, who remained a parliamentarian for 15 years until 2020.

The president wants to “establish a good political culture with no big shouting, no big gatherings,” Rathnayake said. “It is a quite normal day here in Sri Lanka today.”

After his Cabinet took oath, he said: “The president will dissolve the parliament for fresh elections.”

The 225-member parliament was elected in 2020 and new elections are due by August next year.

If the parliament is dissolved, the fresh polls are due by November.

The president will appoint heads of institutions, including defense and finance departments.

“The priority is the welfare of the people of Sri Lanka where over 50% of the population, some 12 million, live under economic vulnerability,” Rathnayake said.

“The president is expected to reduce prices of goods by reducing some indirect taxes and he is planning to reduce oil and electricity prices to give some sort of boost to the economy and then only the business and entrepreneurs will think to start new businesses,” he explained.