Sri Lankan parliamentarians have elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the country's new President, despite his poor popularity. For now, Wickremesinghe's biggest task is to get Sri Lanka back on its feet from the current financial collapse and restore order after months of mass protests.

"We feel that Ranil Wickremesinghe is the only person with the experience, the know-how and the ability to provide solutions to the economic crisis," said Secretary General Sagara Kariyawasam.

Ranil Wickremesinghe should restore the country and start new financing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as soon as possible.

His immediate challenges include fuel supply and managing public discontent.

Sri Lanka's former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country last week, to the Maldives and then to Singapore, after thousands of protesters stormed his official residence in Colombo, demanding his resignation.

Ranil Wickremesinghe does not seem to be preferred by the popular majority who are also demanding his resignation because he is a close ally of the Rajapaksa political family that led Sri Lanka for many years.

The protesters last week set fire to his private residence and even broke into his ministerial office in Colombo in demonstrations against his leadership.

Many demonstrators today expressed despair and disappointment over his victory.

When he took over as interim president last week, he ordered the military to do whatever was necessary to restore public order after protesters stormed and occupied government buildings.

He also extended a national state of emergency order this week to stop any demonstrations.

Wickremesinghe is seen by many as a shrewd political operator who managed to stay in parliament despite his party losing all but one of its seats in the 2020 elections.

A former prime minister for six times, Wickremesinghe lost the race for the presidency in his last two elections. Today's victory means he will serve out the remainder of his presidential term until November 2024.