Sri Lankan opposition leader drops out of presidential race

Sri Lankan opposition leader drops out of presidential race
# 19 July 2022 11:45 (UTC +04:00)

Sri Lankan opposition leader Sajith Premadasa announced on Tuesday he had dropped out of the race to become president of the crisis-hit nation and promised his support to a rival candidate set to take on acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe, APA reports citing Reuters.

Students and other groups planned a mass protest against Wickremesinghe's bid for president, as lawmakers gathered in parliament to finalise candidates for the role ahead of a vote on Wednesday. Protesters see Wickremesinghe as an ally of ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

"For the greater good of my country that I love and the people I cherish, I hereby withdraw my candidacy for the position of president," Premadasa said on Twitter.

He said his main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya party and "our alliance and our opposition partners will work hard towards making" Dullas Alahapperuma the winner.

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