A six-time prime minister, the leader of Opposition and a journalist-turned-politician from the ruling party are in a race to become Sri Lanka’s next president, after the incumbent Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country this week.

It is reported that Sri Lanka’s parliamentary speaker will convene the legislative body after receiving Rajapaksa’s official resignation and its 225 members will vote to elect a new president. It is likely to be held next week.

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The winning candidate must secure a simple majority within parliament, but also gain the confidence of hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans who have participated in the protest movement – known as the “Aragalaya”, or “struggle” in Sinhala – that led to Rajapaksa’s ouster.

The Prime Minister:

Prime Minister and acting president Ranil Wickremesinghe is among the aspirants for the top job, two political sources said.

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Although Wickremesinghe’s party holds only one seat in parliament, sections of Sri Lanka’s ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), including the president’s brother Basil Rajapaksa, are backing him.

An SLPP official said that party members felt Wickremesinghe – who is also the country’s finance minister – has a good handle on the economic challenges facing Sri Lanka.

The main opposition leader:

Sajith Premadasa is another contender in the fray. But with only around 50 lawmakers in parliament, he will need to build bi-partisan support to stand a chance.

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Premadasa studied at the London School of Economics and entered politics after his father, President Ranasinghe Premadasa, was assassinated in a suicide bombing in 1993.

He entered parliament in 2000, later serving as Sri Lanka’s deputy health minister. In 2018, he was appointed minister of housing construction and cultural affairs.

A Journalist:

The third frontrunner for the top post Dullas Alahapperuma, a senior lawmaker from the SLPP who had gained traction among a section of his party colleagues.

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The ruling party has about 117 votes that could be used to field a candidate like the 63-year-old former journalist and get him across the line, SLPP lawmaker Charitha Herath said.

Alahapperuma, who entered parliament in 1994, served as the minister of mass media and a cabinet spokesperson but resigned in April when President Rajapaksa dissolved the cabinet after protesters surrounded his private residence.