Naypyidaw, Myanmar (BBN)-Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has named two candidates, as the country starts the process of selecting a new president.
Correspondents say one of them, Htin Kyaw, is almost certain to be elected president by the NLD-controlled parliament, reports BBC.
The nominations confirm that NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi will not be president of the country.
However, Suu Kyi has previously said she would be “above” the president.
The NLD nominations are the first step in the process of choosing a new president which will happen over the next few days.
The party has named Htin Kyaw, who is part of Suu Kyi’s inner circle, as its lower house nominee for vice president.
It has also named Henry Van Thio, an MP from the Chin ethnic minority, as its upper house nominee.
Both houses will separately choose between the NLD’s candidates and those from other parties.
The winner from each house will go on to a second vote to decide the president of the country.
A military nominated candidate will also compete in this vote.
The two losing candidates will become vice-presidents.
Because the NLD dominates both houses, correspondents say that Htin Kyaw is almost certain to win.
The NLD won the majority of non-military seats available in parliament in last year’s historic general election.
But the army – which still controls a quarter of all parliamentary seats and key security ministries – remains a significant force in Burmese politics.
WHO IS HTIN KYAW?
Htin Kyaw, 70, is a NLD central executive committee member and Suu Kyi’s close aide.
The soft-spoken Oxford graduate is said to have a reputation for honesty and loyalty, and has kept a low profile.
His father, the writer and poet Min Thu Wun, won a seat for the party at the 1990 election.
His wife, Su Su Lwin, is the daughter of an NLD founder, as well as being a sitting MP, and a prominent party member.
He has played a senior role at the Daw Khin Kyi Foundation, the charity founded in honour of Suu Kyi’s late mother, and has been frequently seen at the NLD leader’s side, serving as her driver from time to time.
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