Mr Htin Kyaw, a respected writer and intellectual who is trusted by Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sailed through the first round of a parliamentary vote yesterday, remaining on course to become the country's first civilian president in decades.
Mr Htin Kyaw, 69, received 274 votes from 330 civilian lawmakers in the Lower House.
The candidate put forward by army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Dr Sai Mauk Kham, received just 29 votes.
Meanwhile, in the Upper House, ethnic Chin MP Henry Van Thio, nominated by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) for one of two vice-presidential slots, was also endorsed, leaving the USDP nominee a distant second.
Mr Htin Kyaw, whose friendship with Ms Suu Kyi goes back to their parents' generation, is all but certain to be Myanmar's next president, as a proxy for Ms Suu Kyi. (Courtesy of The Straits Times)
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