Suu Kyi ally set to be president
Lower House speaker Win Myint tipped for head of state post
NAYPYIDAW: Win Myint, a trusted aide of Aung San Suu Kyi, is tipped to become Myanmar’s new head of state after President U Htin Kyaw resigned due to health reasons.
Analysts, however, expect no other changes in the government.
Shortly after the President’s Office announced the resignation of Htin Kyaw on Wednesday, Lower House speaker Win Myint also put in his papers.
The resignation of the two senior political figures took place only a day after Suu Kyi returned home after the Australia-Asean special summit where the Rohingya crisis was comprehensively discussed and Asean was urged to play a bigger role.
While Asean has followed its traditional policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of a member country, Suu Kyi has been strongly criticised for her role in handling the situation.
The United Nations’ human rights body has pointed to a possible genocide since August when violence forced some 700,000 people to flee from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.
Htin Kyaw took office after the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in the 2015 election.
His role in the administration was ceremonial as Suu Kyi, who was barred by the military-sponsored constitution from the position, created for herself the position of State Counsellor, effectively becoming the de facto leader.
Htin Kyaw is an old school friend of Suu Kyi, who was loyal to her and advised her at the peak of her political struggle and house arrest.
The 71-year-old president, who has had a heart problem in the past, has been in poor health and was found to have lost a lot of weight recently.
He reportedly received medical treatment in Thailand.
Politicians in Myanmar told The Nation that Htin Kyaw’s move to step down was due to health problems.
“We believe President Htin Kyaw resigned from his post because of his health. We need to respect his decision,” said NLD spokesman Monywa Aung Shin.
“We’ve been hearing about President Htin Kyaw’s medical treatment for a long time.
“Everybody knows that he needs to take rest.
“So, we are not surprised by this development,” said Nanda Hla Myint, spokesman of the rival Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
The USDP was the ruling party during the previous administration under General Thein Sein.
Win Myint, 66, who is tipped to be the new president, is also a longtime trusted Suu Kyi loyalist.
He served on the NLD’s executive committee for many years.
He became House speaker after the 2015 election victory because of his background in law.
According to the constitution, Myanmar’s parliament would appoint a new president within a week.
Vice-President Myint Swe, a retired general who took the position under the military quota, will be the acting president until the new head of state is appointed.