Few people outside Burma will have heard of Htin Kyaw, Burma’s new president. In fact, all but those with a close interest in the Southeast Asian country, where a democratically elected government has just taken power after decades as a military dictatorship, can be forgiven for assuming that the person who would lead the new government would be Aung San Suu Kyi, the symbol of the country’s fight for political reform.
Not so. Burma’s constitution prevents the Nobel laureate from becoming president on the grounds that her two sons are British. There were reports circulating several weeks ago which hinted at the possibility of constitutional change and Suu Kyi becoming president after all. But such a significant change required the military’s approval (which holds 25 percent of parliamentary seats) and they were clearly unwilling to support this particular step towards democracy.
So while it may seem bizarre that having won a landslide election victory, Suu Kyi will not become the country’s new leader, she and her party—the National League for Democracy (NLD)—have manufactured a remedy to this manifestly unjust obstacle. Throughout the election campaign she stated that she will be the de facto head of state and will occupy a position “above the president.” It remains unclear precisely how this will be made to work but, if it is to be effective, it is imperative that the de jure president accepts the role of effectively acting as a proxy. Clearly, it is crucial that the right person be chosen for this unusual position.
