Sri Lanka Swears In New President After Upset
In Address, Maithripala Sirisena Says He Will ‘Restore Freedom, Democracy, People Power’
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH-Jan. 9, 2015
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka—Sri Lanka swore in a new president Friday after voters ousted Mahinda Rajapaksa, the man who had led the country for nearly a decade, in an electoral upset his opponents said was a triumph of democracy over creeping authoritarianism.
Opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena took the oath of office before a cheering crowd that included saffron-robed Buddhist monks, military officers in dress uniforms and ordinary citizens at a public ceremony in Colombo’s Independence Square.
