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Myanmar’s Suu Kyi holds transition talks with president

Wednesday, 02 December 2015 7:09 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 02 December 2015 7:10 AM ]

In this photograph taken and released by the Myanmar News Agency (MNA), Myanmar President Thein Sein (2nd R) meets with leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Aung San Suu Kyi, (2nd L) as NLD central executive committee member, Win Myint (L), and Myanmar Information Minister and presidential spokesperson, Ye Htut (R), look on during a meeting in Naypyidaw on December 2, 2015. ©AFP

Myanmar’s opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has held negotiations with the country’s army-backed president on the handover of power nearly a month after her party’s landmark victory in the elections.

Suu Kyi arrived at President Thein Sein’s residence in the capital, Naypyidaw, on Wednesday morning.

Presidential Spokesman Ye Htut told reporters that the meeting lasted about 45 minutes.

“The main point was to talk about a smooth transition and transfer of power to the newly-elected government,” he said, adding that the two sides also wanted “to discuss mutual cooperation in the future.”

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein (Photo by Reuters)

Suu Kyi is scheduled to meet with army chief Min Aung Hlaing later in the day.

In the November 8 parliamentary polls, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won about 80 percent of the contested seats, more than the two-thirds it needed to control the parliament and select the president.

In the wake of the polls, both the president and the army chief congratulated Suu Kyi on her victory and vowed to pursue a peaceful transfer of power. However, there remain concerns among NLD supporters because the party had won a similar landslide in polls in 1990, only to see the army annul the results.

Suu Kyi has been clear about her intention to change parts of the 2008 military-drafted constitution, including a clause that bans her from becoming president because her late British husband and two sons are not Myanmar citizens.

The opposition leader said last month that she would take a post “above the president,” indicating she will appoint a proxy to the role to circumvent the constitutional ban.

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