A historic transition in Myanmar. The country's Parliament elected a close friend and confidant of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as President on Tuesday (March 15), making Htin Kyaw the first head of state who does not hail from a military background since the 1960s.
Lawmakers erupted into applause after the result was announced following a lengthy ballot count by hand in the capital Naypyidaw, in which Htin Kyaw took 360 of 652 votes cast.
“Today’s result is because of the love of people for her. It is the victory of my sister Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Htin Kyaw, 69, after the vote.
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.
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She has vowed to run the country anyway through a proxy president, and last week the NLD nominated Htin Kyaw for the role. He runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and has been a trusted member of her inner circle since the mid-1990s. He is not a lawmaker.
Suu Kyi, who was the first Member of Parliament (MP) to vote, clapped and smiled after the result was announced. This is the big day for us,” said NLD Lower House MP Zar Ni Min after the vote. “This is what we have hoped for since a long time ago.”
The still-powerful military holds a quarter of the seats in Parliament and has the right under the Constitution to nominate one of the three candidates for president. Its candidate, retired General Myint Swe, received 213 votes, making him the First Vice-President.
The third candidate for the presidency, Henry Van Thio, was also nominated by the NLD. He will become Second Vice-President and was chosen by Suu Kyi to represent the country’s numerous ethnic minorities. He is a member of the Chin ethnic group from the north-west of Myanmar.
Myanmar is undergoing a dramatic transformation from an isolated and repressed pariah state to a rapidly opening aspiring democracy.
Despite the NLD winning a thumping victory during November’s elections, the military remains a powerful force and has refused to change a clause in the junta-era Constitution that bars Suu Kyi from the presidency. Under the clause, she is barred from top political office because she married and had children with a foreigner.
For many lawmakers from the NLD, yesterday’s vote was a vindication of their long years of struggle for democracy under the repressive former junta, which locked up hundreds of dissidents as it tried to stifle criticism.
Zin Mar Aung, an NLD lawmaker who was involved in 1988 protests and is herself a former political prisoner, termed the vote “very historic”. She said the election of Htin Kyaw, who was also detained by the former junta, made her think of their long struggle and “the way we have marched to here since more than 20 years ago”.
In central Yangon people crowded into teashops to watch the vote live on television.
While little known outside Myanmar, Htin Kyaw commands considerable respect inside the country, partly because his father was a legendary writer and early member of the NLD.
The President picks the Cabinet that will take over from President Thein Sein’s outgoing government on April 1, with the exception of the heads of the Home, Defence and Border Security ministries, who will be appointed by the armed forces chief.
NOTE:Congrats to Suu Kyi and friends. Hope Myanmar will play a constructive role in Asean by contributing to its progress and stability. They also need to look into the plight of the Rohingya people by issuing them with citizenship and recognise their rights.
Lawmakers erupted into applause after the result was announced following a lengthy ballot count by hand in the capital Naypyidaw, in which Htin Kyaw took 360 of 652 votes cast.
“Today’s result is because of the love of people for her. It is the victory of my sister Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Htin Kyaw, 69, after the vote.
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 last week the NLD nominated Htin Kyaw for the role. He runs a charity founded by Suu Kyi and has been a trusted member of her inner circle since the mid-1990s. He is not a lawmaker.
Suu Kyi, who was the first Member of Parliament (MP) to vote, clapped and smiled after the result was announced. This is the big day for us,” said NLD Lower House MP Zar Ni Min after the vote. “This is what we have hoped for since a long time ago.”
The still-powerful military holds a quarter of the seats in Parliament and has the right under the Constitution to nominate one of the three candidates for president. Its candidate, retired General Myint Swe, received 213 votes, making him the First Vice-President.
The third candidate for the presidency, Henry Van Thio, was also nominated by the NLD. He will become Second Vice-President and was chosen by Suu Kyi to represent the country’s numerous ethnic minorities. He is a member of the Chin ethnic group from the north-west of Myanmar.
Myanmar is undergoing a dramatic transformation from an isolated and repressed pariah state to a rapidly opening aspiring democracy.
Despite the NLD winning a thumping victory during November’s elections, the military remains a powerful force and has refused to change a clause in the junta-era Constitution that bars Suu Kyi from the presidency. Under the clause, she is barred from top political office because she married and had children with a foreigner.
For many lawmakers from the NLD, yesterday’s vote was a vindication of their long years of struggle for democracy under the repressive former junta, which locked up hundreds of dissidents as it tried to stifle criticism.
Zin Mar Aung, an NLD lawmaker who was involved in 1988 protests and is herself a former political prisoner, termed the vote “very historic”. She said the election of Htin Kyaw, who was also detained by the former junta, made her think of their long struggle and “the way we have marched to here since more than 20 years ago”.
In central Yangon people crowded into teashops to watch the vote live on television.
While little known outside Myanmar, Htin Kyaw commands considerable respect inside the country, partly because his father was a legendary writer and early member of the NLD.
The President picks the Cabinet that will take over from President Thein Sein’s outgoing government on April 1, with the exception of the heads of the Home, Defence and Border Security ministries, who will be appointed by the armed forces chief.
NOTE:Congrats to Suu Kyi and friends. Hope Myanmar will play a constructive role in Asean by contributing to its progress and stability. They also need to look into the plight of the Rohingya people by issuing them with citizenship and recognise their rights.