March 17, 2016: U Htin
Kyaw elected Myanmar’s president
General Studies: Daily Capsule
Curtain Raiser –News Update (March 17, 2016)
U Htin Kyaw elected
Myanmar’s president:
U Htin Kyaw has been
elected Myanmar’s president. He is a close ally of Aung San Suu Kyi. Myanmar’s Constitution
prevents anyone whose children are foreign citizens from assuming the highest
office. As Ms Suu Kyi’s sons are British
citizens, she is not eligible for the post of the president.
“Mr. Htin Kyaw’s
government would be its most democratic administration since 1962 when the
military seized power.”[1]
The
system of election of the president:
“The president is chosen from candidates put forward by
each of the two houses of parliament, in addition to a third nominee from the
military.”[2]
Olive homes of the Guardian writes:
“Htin
Kyaw was elected under a complex system in which the two chambers of parliament
nominated two presidential candidates and military MPs nominated a third,
assuring the army continued influence.
The army also
retains 25% of seats in parliament under a 2008 constitution that it drafted,
giving it an effective veto on constitutional change. It also keeps key
ministerial portfolios related to security.” [3]
The election method
can further be amplified in these words of Suhasini Haider:
“With U Htin Kyaw,
the National League for Democracy candidate, being elected on March 15, the
country will have a new President, a civilian Vice-President, and a Vice-President
from the military, under the supervision of the Tatmadaw or Myanmar’s military,
which retains a quarter of the seats in Parliament and the power to nominate
the three most important ministers: Defence, Home Affairs and Border Affairs.”[4]
Tasks at hand for new government:
“The new government
has to address the deep economic problems. Myanmar is placed 149 among 186
nations in the 2013 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development
Programme. For getting economy on track, Myanmar will have to take regional as
well as global assistance.” [1] & [4]
References:
1. 1. A new chapter in Myanmar, March 17, 2016, The Hindu
2.
Myanmar
elects Htin Kyaw as first civilian president in decades, March 15, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35808921
3. Myanmar
parliament elects Htin Kyaw as first civilian president in 53 years, by Oliver
Homes, March 15, 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/15/myanmar-parliament-elects-htin-kyaw-as-first-civilian-president-in-53-years
4. 4. A new beginning in Myanmar by Suhasini Haider, March
16, 2016, The Hindu