Sri Lankan lawmakers have voted to elect former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as president following last week’s resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after mass protests rocked the country. Wickremesinghe is a six-time former prime minister who was a close ally to the former president. Protesters decried his selection as Sri Lanka’s new leader.

Buwanaka Perera: “I think it’s a sad day, though. It’s a sad day not just for the people of this country, but for all of the world, I guess, because it seems that the entire world is sort of accepting this most unethical manner of leadership, because this is someone who did not win an election. He’s someone who was rejected by the people’s mandate. And then, such a person — how ethical is it for someone like him, let alone lead a government, lead a country, be the head of a state?”