Burma Ministers Resign From Military Positions

The Burmese head of state and 17 other ministers resigned from their military positions for the coming elections.
Burma Ministers Resign From Military Positions
Burma Prime Minister Thein Sein attends the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Hanoi on April 9. (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)
4/26/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/sein98338515b.jpg" alt="Burma Prime Minister Thein Sein attends the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Hanoi on April 9.  (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)" title="Burma Prime Minister Thein Sein attends the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Hanoi on April 9.  (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1820610"/></a>
Burma Prime Minister Thein Sein attends the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Hanoi on April 9.  (Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images)
The Burmese head of state and 17 other ministers resigned from their military positions for the coming elections.

The Burmese officials are stepping down in what appears to be a move toward providing polls in their first democratic elections, according to Sify. Prime Minister Thein Sein, who is looking to be re-elected, stepped down from his position as general.

Under new regulations passed in March, military officials can’t run for office. The country has been presided over by a military dictatorship since 1962 and if military leaders run for office and win, it would appear to be a continuation of the same.

The National League for Democracy, the main opposition party to the ruling junta, dropped out the race because jailed persons cannot run for office, which looks to be aimed at their leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.