Myanmar brings forward nomination, election of next president
Yangon - Myanmar's next president will be nominated and elected by parliament on March 10, a week earlier than previously planned, officials said Tuesday.
The change came after the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won a landslide election victory on November 8, said it was putting on hold its efforts to suspend the constitutional clause that bars Aung San Suu Kyi from assuming the top post.
Parliament Speaker Mann Win Khaing Than announced the plan to speed up the presidential nomination and voting process.
The current constitution says no one with immediate family holding foreign citizenship can be president. Suu Kyi was married to a Briton, and her two sons are British citizens.Suu Kyi and the country's military authorities are reportedly still talking about suspending that clause in the charter in future, but probably not in time for the upcoming nominations.
"The plan was postponed as the party considers the power transfer (away from the incumbent military government) the most important thing during the transition period," said a senior NLD member, who asked not to be named.
The NLD has already decided who its presidential candidate will be, the member said, declining to reveal a name.//DPA