Myanmar gets new president
News & Trends •
dpanan myanmars parliament elected aung san suu kyis confidant win myint as the countrys new president on wednesday a week after predecessor htin kyaw abruptly stepped down from the position1 both houses of parliament voted the ruling party national league for democracy nld stalwart into the position with 403 votes from the 636 lawmakers1 the 66-year-old former lower house speaker became myanmars 10th president and takes the position after the nld swept to power in elections in 2015 the first fully democratic polls after decades of military rule1 both win myint and his predecessor are close to suu kyi who is barred from the presidency and rules the civilian government under the title of state counsellor1 suu kyi observed the vote from parliaments gallery alongside other ministers1 myanmar and suu kyi in particular have been criticised internationally for the treatment of the countrys minority rohingya nearly 700000 of whom have fled to bangladesh during a military campaign described as ethnic cleansing by the un1 win myint has been described as strong-willed in his role as speaker and an assertive politician leading observers to predict he may take on a fuller role as president rather than the ceremonial one performed by htin kyaw1 win myint who represented the lower house beat two other vice presidents representing the upper house and the military respectively to secure the presidency1