As Sri Lanka's economic crisis persists, the protest movement has entered its 100th day, having pushed one president from power and now targeting his replacement.

The movement to unseat ex-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, organized primarily through Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok posts, gathered participants across Sri Lanka's frequently insurmountable ethnic divides.

Minority Tamils and Muslims united with the majority Sinhalese to seek the expulsion of the once-powerful Rajapaksa clan due to economic problems.

It began as a two-day protest on April 9, when tens of thousands of people set up camp in front of Rajapaksa's office — a big gathering that the organizers decided to extend.

According to Sri Lanka's constitution, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was immediately installed as acting president upon Rajapaksa's resignation. He is now the leading candidate to succeed him permanently in a parliamentary vote next week.

The protesters dislike the experienced politician because he is an ally of the Rajapaksa clan, four brothers who have dominated the island's politics for decades.

Prasad Welikumbura, a social media activist and protest campaign backer, stated that Wickremesinghe should also resign.

"Its been 100 days since it started," Welikumbura tweeted.

"Nevertheless, systemic transformation is still a ways off. #SendRanilHome and #NotMyPresident."

In May, Rajapaksa's older brother Mahinda resigned as prime minister. He appointed Wickremesinghe to replace him, although he was an opposition MP representing a one-seat party in parliament.

The move did little to calm the demonstrators' ire, and when they attacked Rajapaksa's heavily guarded 200-year-old Presidential Palace, they set Wickremesinghe's private residence on fire.

The Rajapaksas' SLPP party, which has more than 100 MPs in the 225-member parliament, supports Wickremesinghe in the Wednesday vote.

Turning against Wickremesinghe

A spokeswoman for the protestors told the AFP news agency, "We are now discussing with groups involved in the 'Aragalaya' (struggle) on turning the campaign against Ranil Wickremesinghe."

Since Rajapaksa's departure, numbers at the protest site have decreased, and the demonstrators have evacuated the 200-year-old presidential palace, the Prime Minister's official Temple Trees residence, and his office.

Wickremesinghe has ordered the military and police to do whatever is necessary to maintain peace. Defense officials have stated that extra troops and police will be sent to the capital on Monday to reinforce security surrounding parliament in advance of the vote.