A longtime confidante of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was yesterday confirmed in a parliamentary vote as one of the three final candidates to be Myanmar’s next president.
Htin Kyaw of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party was approved by a 274-29 vote in the lower house of parliament to be a finalist for the presidential election next week. A vote is underway in the upper house to choose the second finalist. A third candidate is to be put forward by the military bloc, which has a constitutionally mandated 25 percent of reserved seats in parliament.
Legislators from both houses of parliament are to hold another round of voting to choose one of them as president, which almost certainly will be 70-year-old Htin Kyaw. The other two will become vice presidents since the NLD has an overwhelming majority in both chambers following its landslide victory in the general elections on Nov. 8 last year.
Photo: AP
The new leaders are to take office at the start of next month to head what is to be Myanmar’s first democratically elected government in more than 50 years. However, for all practical purposes, Htin Kyaw is to be a proxy for Aung San Suu Kyi, who has said she is to be “above” the president and rule from behind the scenes.
This arrangement came into being because Aung San Suu Kyi is barred by the constitution, which says anyone with a foreign spouse or children cannot hold the executive office. Aung San Suu Kyi’s two sons are British, as was her late husband. The clause is widely seen as having been written by the military with Aung San Suu Kyi in mind.
“We are satisfied that Htin Kyaw has won to become one of the presidential candidates. We believe that we soon will be able to create our country’s better future. We chose him because he is a very suitable person and skillful to become the president,” NLD lawmaker Myo Zaw Aung said.
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