This photo taken on Dec. 17, 2024 shows Jagath Wickramaratne in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan parliament on Tuesday unanimously appointed ruling National People's Power (NPP) Member of Parliament Jagath Wickramaratne as its new speaker. (The Sri Lankan parliament/Handout via Xinhua)
COLOMBO, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lankan parliament on Tuesday unanimously appointed ruling National People's Power (NPP) Member of Parliament Jagath Wickramaratne as its new speaker.
Wickramaratne was nominated by Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, and the Leader of the House Bimal Ratnayake supported her proposal.
No other names were proposed, and Deputy Speaker Rizvie Salih announced to the House that Wickremeratne was unanimously appointed as the new speaker.
On Nov. 13, former Speaker Asoka Sapumal Ranwala resigned in the wake of controversy over his educational qualifications. Earlier, the opposition parties accused the speaker of lying about holding a PhD from a Japanese university.
In a statement, Ranwala clarified that he had never lied about his educational qualification, but admitted that he currently lacks documentary proof of his academic achievements. ■