Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday swore in his elder brother, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, as prime minister in the capital Colombo, cementing the powerful family’s political comeback.
The appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa, 74, came hours after the former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe tendered his resignation following the defeat of his United National Party’s (UNP) candidate in the presidential election last week.
It is the first time in Sri Lankan history that two siblings have held the two top political positions, although Mahinda is only in charge of a caretaker government until parliamentary elections next year
Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez has more from Colombo.
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