Min Aung Hlaing as president? NDSC cites 2008 Constitution

He made the remarks while responding to a question raised by a media outlet at a press conference held in Yangon on December 14 concerning the Union Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar’s national-level operation to eradicate online fraud.

The media asked about the role that Acting President and Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior Ge Min Aung Hlaing would play in the post-election political situation, and whether it would be possible for him to continue serving as president if, after the formation of post-election parliaments, he were invited to assume the presidency based on parliamentary selection and public support.

In response to the question, Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun said, “This is a question related to personal matters. I will only speak based on what I know and the information available to me. As for Acting President Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, he has previously spoken about this as far back as around 2014.

Before the 2015 election, media outlets also asked how he would be involved in politics in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.

“At that time, he stated that as Commander-in-Chief, he had already undertaken various levels of state responsibilities. Those state responsibilities included roles under the SLORC and SPDC periods. Therefore, at the regional level, he also served as Chairman of a Regional Peace and Development Council. He later continued serving as the line of Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services. He has experience, and because of that experience, he has said that if the state assigns him responsibilities, he will always apply his experience in serving the country. I would like to quote that statement again.”

Maj Gen Zaw Min Tun further explained that the process of selecting and appointing the president is already stipulated in the Constitution, and that members of parliament elect vice presidents first, followed by a step-by-step voting process to select the president.

He added, “Another point regarding the selection of the president is that an individual cannot simply say, ‘I want to be president,’ nor can they say, ‘I do not want to be president.’ This is purely a matter of law. In other words, even if someone wants to serve, it cannot happen if it does not comply with the law. Likewise, even if someone does not want to serve, they cannot refuse if they are elected. We have already seen people in the past who wanted to serve but could not.

“In the selection of the president, there are fundamental elements. The people elect representatives, and these members of parliament elect the vice presidents. The matter of selecting the president is already included in the 2008 Constitution. After the Presidential Electoral Team selects candidates, voting is conducted step by step. Once the votes are cast and if the legal requirements are met, one can serve as president.

“So, in summary, what I want to say is that everything will be in accordance with the 2008 Constitution,” he said.

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