Political developments in Myanmar are proceeding very slowly. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a landslide victory in the November 8 general elections. But the leader, Aung San SuuKyi has been stymied by the Myanmarese Constitution which says that no one with a foreign spouse or children can hold the executive office. The names of the country’s next president and two vice-presidents will be revealed on March 17. That will mark the transition of power from a military government to a democratic one. Whatever happens, there is no denying that SuuKyi will be at the helm, even if from behind the scenes. She has been negotiating with commander-in-chief General Min AungHlaing on having the debarring clause suspended from the Constitution. The clause can be legally scrapped only by a 75% plus one vote in parliament. The military holds 25% seats in parliament which means the NLD cannot scrap the clause on its own.
KyawHtwe, a senior member of the NLD has said, “the negotiations will be positive for our leader Aung San SuuKyi to become President”. But Yan NyoTheim, a political analyst in Myanmar has said that the outcome of the negotiations is likely to be uncertain and the process will be time consuming. One thing is clear. The NLD owes its massive and most unexpected victory to Aung San SuuKyi’s charisma and leadership and cannot run the government without her guidance. If the clause debarring her is not removed, she will have the same role in the NLD government as Sonia Gandhi had in the UPA government. That is not as satisfactory as it should be.