Myanmar’s parliament this month elected a veteran National League for Democracy (NLD) official as the country’s new president. Together with two vice presidents, Htin Kyaw, a confidant of party chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi, will lead the nation’s first democratic government in more than 50 years upon assumption of office on April 1.
The election of the new president came four months after last November’s general elections, in which the NLD scored a landslide victory to put an end to the country’s military rule since 1962. Htin Kyaw was nominated to the top post by the NLD after rounds of discussion between Suu Kyi and top military leaders failed to yield a desirable result on the proposed amendment of the country’s 2008 constitution, which bars individuals whose spouses or children are foreign nationals from qualifying for the post of president.
Suu Kyi cannot be president herself because her children carry British passports. As the leader of the ruling party, however, she has said she will be “above the president” and is expected to govern the country through the new president. (Courtesy of The Japan Times)
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