Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe (2R), accompanied by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena (2L) leaves after addressing the ceremonial inauguration of the third session of the Ninth Parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 03 August 2022. EFE-EPA/CHAMILA KARUNARATHNE

Sri Lankan Military solders patrol on the parliament complicated throughout the ceremonial inauguration of the primary session of the ninth parliament in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 03 August 2022. Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe prorogued the second session of the Ninth Parliament in accordance with the powers vested in him by the Structure with impact from the 28 of July 2022 and stuck 03 August 2022 for the graduation of the third session of the Ninth Parliament. The Sri Lankan parliament elected Ranil Wickremesinghe as the brand new President on 20 July, after accepting the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled to Singapore by way of the Maldives following months of anti-government protests fueled by the continuing financial disaster. Protests have been affecting the nation for over 4 months as Sri Lanka faces its worst-ever financial disaster in many years because of the lack of overseas reserves, leading to extreme shortages in meals, gas, drugs, and imported items. EFE-EPA/CHAMILA KARUNARATHNE