Ruling party opens door to coalition with Suu Kyi's NLD
Play
Statement helps clear her path to govt but not to the presidency
The leader of Myanmar’s ruling party says that it could form a coalition government with the Aung San Suu Kyi-led National League for Democracy (NLD) after the general election in 2015.
Ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party chairman and Lower House speaker Shwe Mann made the statement while speaking to the Associated Press during his visit to the United States on Thursday.
A Myanmar parliamentary delegation headed by Shwe Mann arrived in the US on June 8 at the invitation of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner.
Shwe Mann also said that his party was cooperating with NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The matter will be decided at the time,” said Shwe Mann, when asked about the likelihood of a coalition after the elections. “But the important thing is to have trust between Suu Kyi and us.”
Both Shwe Mann and Suu Kyi have recently declared their ambition to contest for the presidency.
Asked at the Woodrow Wilson Centre for International Scholars whether Parliament should be doing more to protect Bengali Muslims in Myanmar, Shwe Mann said action would be taken against anyone who broke the existing laws.
“Whatever you call Bengali or Rohingya, our laws have no discrimination against any religion,” the speaker said.
“We still have weaknesses in the rule of law. This is why we are trying to ensure the rule of law in the country,” he said.
Probed about amending the constitution to allow Suu Kyi to run for president, Shwe Mann said he did not want to comment. Anything he said on the subject could impact on another person or harm his or her interests, because the issue was the concern of the majority of the people, he added.
