Suu Kyi’s former driver to be Myanmar’s presidential candidateTop Stories

March 11, 2016 12:47
Suu Kyi’s former driver to be Myanmar’s presidential candidate

Suu Kyi is barred from holding the presidency herself under a junta-drafted 2008 constitution because her children are not Myanmar citizens. Myanmar's lower house of parliament returned a close friend and confidant of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi as its presidential candidate, bringing the top office a step closer for the man expected to rule as Suu Kyi's proxy.

Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has put forward Htin Kyaw, who joined the party just two months ago, as its lower house candidate. He runs a charity organisation founded by Suu Kyi and has been close to her since the mid-1990s.

“I would like to appeal for people to support and stand by the NLD with wisdom and far-sightedness,”  Aung San Suu Kyi said. “The NLD is determined to meet people’s expectations and will do its best.”

Under Myanmar's indirect system for electing a president, three candidates are nominated - one by the lower house, one by the upper house, and one by the military bloc in parliament, who under the constitution hold a quarter of seats in both houses. Both houses will come together to vote in a joint session on March 15, with the winner elected president and the two losing nominees becoming vice presidents.

Suu Kyi's party nominated Henry Van Thio, as its upper house candidate. He is member of the Chin ethnic group from the country's northwest. The party wants Van Thio to represent Myanmar's myriad ethnic minorities in a national reconciliation government as Suu Kyi seeks to bridge the bitter divisions that are the legacy of nearly 50 years of military rule.

By Premji

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