Days after the high drama of the previous Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapakse fleeing the country and protesters overrunning the Presidential Palace, his loyalist, and former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the eighth President of Sri Lanka on Wednesday, balloting 134 of 219 valid votes cast in Parliament. That he clearly does not enjoy the confidence of the people was amply clear earlier, when his private residence was set on fire and his official residence, as Prime Minister, was stormed by protesters demanding his resignation. It was therefore with a familiar sense of déjà vu and being cheated again, that the average Sri Lankan viewed his elevation to the Presidency.