Colombo, (AFP) - Six-time Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in Thursday as president of the crisis-hit South Asian country, his office said.

Wickremesinghe, 73, who was elected by parliament on Wednesday, was sworn in by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya in the heavily guarded parliament complex.

The Sri Lankan police chief and senior military officers stood behind the new president during a ceremony attended by Parliament Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana.

The short ceremony was to be broadcast on local television, but was cut short just before the swearing-in began.
Officials said an investigation had been launched into the cause of the sudden interruption.

Official sources indicated that the new president is expected to form a government of no more than 30 ministers to extricate the country from its worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain.

The population of 22 million has been suffering from a serious shortage of basic materials since the end of last year, as the country no longer has foreign currencies to finance its basic imports.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51 billion external debt in mid-April and is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund to approve a rescue plan.