Aung San Suu Kyi's party names Htin Kyaw as Myanmar presidential nominee

(THESTRAITSTIMES)Myanmar’sNationalLeagueforDemocracy(NLD)hasnominatedMrHtinKyaw,long-timepartyveteranandclosepersonalfriendofpartyleaderAungSanSuuKyi,forthepositionofpresidentofMyanmar.

HewasnominatedbytheNLD-ledlowerhouseofparliamentonThursdaymorning(March10)andisoneofthreenomineesforthepost.Anothercandidate,nominatedbytheupperhouse,isMrHenryVanThio,anethnicChinminorityandNLDlawmaker.Thethirdnomineeisduetobeannouncedbythearmy,whichhasablockof25percentofparliamentseats.

ButMrHtinKyaw’sstaturemakesitobviousthatheistheNLD’schoiceforpresidentandwillbeeasilyvotedintothepostbysittingMembersofParliament.Thismeanstheothertwonomineeswilltakeupthepositionsofvice-president.

Thevoteislikelytotakeplacenextweek,afterproceduralrequirementsincludingsettingupofscrutinisingcommittees.

MrHtinKyaw,69,haseconomicsdegreesfromRangoonandOxforduniversities.Moreimportantly,hecomeswithasterlingpoliticalandintellectualpedigree.HeisthesonofprominentwriterandintellectualMinThuWun,whowasanearlyleaderoftheNLDandwellknowntoMsSuuKyi’sfather,independenceheroGeneralAungSan.

MrMinThuWun,whodiedin2004,wasalsoclosetoUThant,thefirstAsianSecretary-GeneraloftheUnitedNations.Theywerebornwithintwoweeksofeachotherin1909.

MrHtinKyaw’swifeSuSuLwinisalsoclosetoMsSuuKyi,andisherselfthedaughterofaformerarmycolonel,thelateULwin,whowasanearlymemberoftheNLD,helpingtosetupthepartyandleadingitinthe1990s.

MsSuSuLwin,whowonaby-electionin2012fromherfather’soldconstituencyThongwa,wonagainlastNovember.Sheisheadofthelowerhouse’sinternationalrelationscommittee.

ThenextpresidentwillbecometheheadofMyanmar’sfirstgovernmenttocomefromdemocraticelectionssinceamilitarytakeoverin1962.