In a brief address to a joint session of the national parliament after being sworn in as the country’s first civilian president since 1962, Htin Kyaw said: “We have a duty to work for the emergence of a Constitution that is appropriate for our country and also in accordance with democratic standards”.
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Parliament’s Upper House on Thursday agreed to discuss a draft bill that would create a powerful new position in the executive branch earmarked for Aung San Suu Kyi and meant to facilitate a pledge she made past year to govern from a position “above the president” in the National League for Democracy government sworn into power this week.
In addition to the foreign affairs post, Suu Kyi will also be the minister of education, the minister of the president’s office, and the minister of electric power and energy.
Here it is important to mention that the first Vice President Myint Swe hailed from a Military background and was very close to Junta govt.
The NLD has repeatedly stated Ms. Suu Kyi would rule Myanmar from “above the president”, who would step down if the military subsequently agreed to allow the constitution to be amended.
Aung San Suu Kyi is one of 18 members of the president’s new cabinet.
Htin Kyaw, a school friend and confidant of the democracy champion, succeeds former general Thein Sein, who ushered in reforms that transformed Myanmar from a repressive hermit state to a nation full of hope.
How Suu Kyi reciprocates will be gauged from how early and with what priorities she visits New Delhi.
NLD lawmakers were emotional at the scale of the achievement after decades of struggle, including years when many of them were jailed or, like Suu Kyi herself, put under house arrest. Despite the apparent breakthrough of a civilian government taking power in Myanmar, the majority party is shut out of Myanmar’s police and security forces, which remain under the military’s control. But clause 59(f) of the constitution bars anyone with a foreign spouse or child from running for the top job. It means the army retains the power to veto any changes to the constitution, as that would require more than 75% of votes. Wildly popular, Suu Kyi is referred to as “the Lady”, and she had previously vowed she would rule “above” the next leader.
The NLD won 80 per cent of parliamentary seats, giving them a massive public mandate to rule. The junta kept Myanmar in isolation and economic stagnation while refusing to listen to worldwide counsel or homegrown demands for democracy.
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The junta called elections in 1990 but refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won overwhelmingly. Thein Sein also worked to increase peace in the conflict-ridden country.
