“There is no hope in this country”: Sri Lanka in state of emergency amid protests, coming elections

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Sri Lanka’s acting president declared a state of emergency on Monday, giving him broad authority amid growing protests demanding his resignation two days before the country’s lawmakers are set to elect a new president.

Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president on Friday after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled abroad on Wednesday and resigned after months-long mass protests over the country’s economic collapse.

Wickremesinghe’s move to impose a state of emergency comes as protests demanding his resignation have continued in most parts of the country, with some protesters burning his effigy.

"It (the state of emergency) is going to take us from bad to worse. There is no hope in this country," said one resident, a Catholic priest, in the nation's capital Colombo.

Lawmakers who met on Saturday began the process of electing a new leader to serve the rest of the term abandoned by Rajapaksa. Nominations for the election of the new president will be heard on Tuesday, and if there is more than one candidate the lawmakers will vote on Wednesday.