National League for Democracy party (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament votes Tuesday to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
The Associated Press
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP) - Myanmar's parliament elects a new president on Tuesday to head the country's first democratically elected government, but it won't be Aung San Suu Kyi, the face of the nation's decades-long struggle against military rule. Here's why:
WHAT PREVENTED SUU KYI?
The military has been in power in this Southeast Asian nation since 1962. Faced with unrelenting international pressure and a democracy campaign led by Suu Kyi, the junta began to pave the way toward a civilian government in 2011. Suu Kyi's nonviolent campaign won her the Nobel Peace Prize. But such was the antipathy of some generals toward Suu Kyi that they inserted a clause in the constitution to stymie her. The clause forbids anyone with a foreign spouse or child from becoming president. Suu Kyi's two sons are British, as was her late husband.
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WHAT DID SUU KYI DO?
Her National League for Democracy party won the Nov. 8 parliamentary elections by a landslide. At that point, she had still hoped to convince the generals to allow the constitutional clause to be scrapped. The military, which controls a quarter of the seats in parliament, refused to relent during several rounds of negotiations with her. So the NLD had to nominate someone else as its candidate for president, who is chosen by members of parliament.
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WHO DID SHE CHOOSE?
Foreseeing such an eventuality, Suu Kyi told the media before and after the election that she would be the real power in the government, and whoever becomes president would do her bidding. While her statement may sound undemocratic, she could argue that she was only reflecting the will of the people who voted for the party because of her. So she chose a trusted friend she has known for more than 60 years, a confidant who has been by her side for decades and an astute adviser all these years: Htin Kyaw, a 70-year-old former computer programmer and bureaucrat.
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WHAT ARE THE PITFALLS?
Experts say that Suu Kyi's position on being the real power will ensure that Htin Kyaw will be seen as a seat warmer, and therefore an easy target for military leaders keen to reassert control. It gives him little clout in making policy decisions, even among his own colleagues. Experts also warn that it is possible that foreign leaders and governments will bypass him and go directly to Suu Kyi, making him less relevant.
Military officers, appointed members of Manama's parliament stand in lines to mark attendance registry in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, ahead of a parliamentary session on Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament voted Tuesday to elect the country's new president, a watershed moment that will usher the longtime opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi into government. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
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In this image made from video provided by Myanmar Parliament Television, members of parliament cast their ballots for the country's new president in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament votes Tuesday to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. (Myanmar Parliament Television via AP Video) MYANMAR OUT, NO SALES
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In this image made from video provided by Myanmar Parliament Television, members of parliament line up to receive ballots and vote for the country's new president in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament votes Tuesday to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. (Myanmar Parliament Television via AP Video) MYANMAR OUT, NO SALES
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National League for Democracy party (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, center, arrives in Manama's parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's parliament votes Tuesday to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)
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Htin Kyaw, left, a candidate for president from the National League for Democracy party stands in a corridor of Myanmar parliament in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Myanmar's lawmakers gather to vote to pick the country's next president from a group of three final candidates on Tuesday, including a front runner who is a longtime confidant of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
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