Myanmar’s Parliament elected a close friend and confidant of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as president on Tuesday, the first head of state who does not hail from a military background since the 1960s.
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It is because of people’s goodwill and loving kindness, I become the president.
Htin Kyaw was voted Myanmar’s first civilian president in decades at the voting on March 15. Another candidate from Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), Henry Van Thio, received 79 votes.
Ex-General U Myint Swe, the military’s candidate, was elected first vice president with 213 votes.
The Myanmar parliament set three groups representing the two Houses and military MPs to nominate one candidate each for the presidential race and through voting, the one that wins the most number of votes takes the presidency while the remaining two become vice presidents.
The NLD is still haunted by its 1990 election victory, which was snatched away by the generals. After crushing anti-government riots in which thousands of people were killed, the junta placed Suu Kyi under house arrest in 1989.
Well, there was little doubt about Htin Kyaw’s victory today.
Myanmar’s constitution, written under the former junta’s direction, blocks Suu Kyi from becoming president because of a clause that excludes anyone with a foreign spouse or children.
The new government will take office on April 1.
But if she was loving it, or reflecting on the sacrifices that have been built to get here, no sign was given by Ms Suu Kyi.
Htin Kyaw studied computer science and was a professor as well as an official at the trade ministry and the foreign ministry before taking a leadership position in the Khin Kyi Foundation, a charity established by Suu Kyi.
After more reforms, another general election was held on November 8 that the NLD wond by a landslide, a reflection of Suu Kyi’s widespread public support.
Sources in Suu Kyi’s camp say she has grown increasingly frustrated with military intransigence on issues ranging from amending the constitution to relatively minor formalities such as the location of the handover of power.
His father-in-law was already a prominent NLD leader and his wife is a member.
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Pu Chin Sian Thang, a Baptist lawmaker from Chin State, said that while he was happy to help elect a new civilian president, the constitutional clause barring Suu Kyi from holding the top post was a violation of human rights. However, the election of Htin Kyaw, a confidante of Suu Kyi and once her driver, effectively puts her in the driver’s seat.
