COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as president, amid hopes that he will pull the country out of its economic suffering, BBC reports.

The 73-year-old took his oath at the tightly-guarded parliament complex on Thursday.

Wickremesinghe – the former prime minister – is seen as deeply unpopular with the public, but some protesters have said they will give him a chance, the report said.

Sri Lanka is currently in the grip of mass unrest over an economic crisis.

Many blame the Rajapaksa administration for mishandling the crisis and see Wickremesinghe as part of the problem – but there were few demonstrations on the streets the day after Wickremesinghe won the parliament vote.

However security remained tight around government buildings in the capital, according to BBC.

Wickremesinghe won a strong majority of the vote from lawmakers with the backing of the ruling party – the Sri Lanka’s People’s Front.

Wickremesinghe is aiming to restore political stability so the country can resume negotiations with the International Monetary fund for a bailout package.

He told parliament the nation was “in a very difficult situation” and there were “big challenges ahead”.

(Inputs from BBC)