Sri Lanka's Parliament held a special session on Saturday to start the process of electing a new president on July 20 following the resignation of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, with four contenders, including acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe joining the race to head the next government that has the arduous task to revive the country's bankrupt economy. During a 13-minute special session, Dhammika Dassanayake, Secretary General of Parliament, announced the vacancy for the post of president after the resignation Rajapaksa, who fled the country after a popular uprising against him for mishandling the country's economic crisis.