Burma‘s powerful army chief congratulated incoming president Htin Kyaw and pledged cooperation on Wednesday, after the ally of Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the country’s first head of state with no military background in decades.
Suu Kyi led her National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide election win in November, but a constitution drafted by the former junta bars her from the top office.
She has vowed to run the country anyway through a proxy president, and on Tuesday the NLD-dominated parliament elected Htin Kyaw for the role. He runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and is a trusted member of her inner circle.
Relations between the armed forces and Suu Kyi will define the success of Burma‘s most significant break from military rule since the army seized power in 1962.
The armed forces hold a quarter of parliamentary seats and the constitutional right to nominate one of the three presidential candidates. The army candidate, retired general Myint Swe, was elected first vice president on Tuesday. (Courtesy of DVB)
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