Suu Kyi bows out of Myanmar poll
Print Edition
THE party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi officially confirmed yesterday that she will not become Myanmar’s next president.
Unofficially, she has vowed to be the de-facto leader by calling the shots from behind the scenes, and party members said that’s how things will work in Myanmar’s first elected government in more than a half century.
The party nominated two Suu Kyi loyalists for the post including the front runner Htin Kyaw, a 70-year-old graduate of the University of London. The nomination will be followed by a vote among legislators later this month before the new president is installed on April 1.
“I’m very happy and very pleased and I believe he (Htin Kyaw) will work together with Aung San Suu Kyi for the benefit of the people,” said Khin Su Su Kyi, an NLD lawmaker.
For the past several weeks Suu Kyi is believed to have held closed-door talks with the powerful military generals to suspend a constitutional clause that bars her from the presidency.
The outcome of the negotiations was not known until yesterday, when the names of the loyalists were announced, signaling the end, at least for now, of Suu Kyi’s longtime ambition to be Myanmar’s leader.
Suu Kyi did not attend yesterday’s high-profile nomination session but posted a message on Facebook to her legions of supporters. She called it a “first step toward realizing the expectations and desires of the people who overwhelmingly supported the National League for Democracy in the elections.”
“It is our will to fulfill the people’s desire,” Suu Kyi said in the letter posted on her Facebook page. “We will try as hard as we can to do that.”
The longtime former political prisoner led her National League for Democracy to a landslide victory in general elections on Novermber 8, paving the way for the countryÕs first democratically elected government since the military took power in 1962.
Despite her massive popular support, the 70-year-old Suu Kyi is blocked from the presidency because the constitution bars anyone with a foreign spouse or children from holding the executive office. Suu KyiÕs two sons are British, as was her late husband.
During yesterdayÕs parliament session, the NLD nominated, from the lower house, Htin Kyaw, a longtime confidante and associate of Suu Kyi. He is widely respected and seen as a front runner.
ÒI think he is the best one for the country.
ÒHe has experience, heÕs fair and heÕs a real gentleman so our countryÕs future will be very good,Ó said Kyaw Win Maung, an NLD lawmaker.
A vote will be held later this month to elect the president and two vice presidents.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
