Aung San Suu Kyi 'Apologizes' for Not Becoming President

by Steve Herman March 10, 2016

Longtime Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has released a letter to her supporters apologizing for not becoming the country's next president.

In the letter posted to social media Thursday shortly before Myanmar's parliament began the process of selecting the new chief executive, the Nobel Laureate apologized for "not fully fulfilling the people's desire."

She added that she would persevere and asked for people's continued support "to reach the goal peacefully."

Her National League for Democracy party (NLD), won an overwhelming number of seats in parliament during November's general election. But a clause in the military written constitution prevents her from assuming the nation's top job because her sons have foreign citizenship.

'I'm very sad. She is the right president. But hopefully one day she will become President. I 100 percent hope,' said Nay Myo Htet, an NLD lawmaker, immediately after reading the party leader's letter shown to him by VOA News in the lobby of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house of parliament).

After her letter was released, the lower house of parliament, controlled by the NLD, Thursday chose party member Htin Kyaw as its nominee for vice president. Htin Kyaw is a confidante of Aung San Suu Kyi and son of an NLD co-founder. The upper house, also controlled by the NLD, selected Hanery Ban Htee Yu from Chin state as a nominee for vice president.

VOA has learned that the military is causing outside of parliament to select its nominee for vice president.

A total of five nominees will be chosen before a vetting period, which will reduce the number of nominees from to three. The entire parliament is expected to vote on March 18 to decide which of three finalists becomes the nation's next president.

After the elections last year, Aung San Suu Kyi had said she would run the government, saying she would be "above the president."

But closed door talks in recent weeks between her and the military had led to speculation that the two sides might reach a deal to suspend the constitutional clause that bars her from the presidency. That appears now not to be the case.

The new government will take office on April 1.

The November general election was the first since a nominally civilian government was installed in 2011 after decades of military dictatorship.