Ekip
10 December 2015•Update: 11 December 2015
YANGON, Myanmar
A proposal that could pave the way for Myanmar’s Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi serving as president despite a constitutional clause barring her from the post has been gaining ground, according to local media Thursday.
An MP from the military-backed ruling party has joined those supporting the idea that Suu Kyi, whose opposition National League for Democracy party won the general election last month, can lead the country if section 59(f) of the 2008 constitution is suspended.
Aung Ko, himself a retired senior military officer who lost his lower house seat for Chin State’s Kanpetlet township in the Nov. 8 polls, told The Myanmar Times that such a move was possible if it won the approval of more than 50 percent of lawmakers.
"It is not necessary to change section 59(f) at the present to choose the NLD chair for the presidency, given the desire of the people and international community," he said Wednesday.
"We have to submit a proposal [to suspend the section] in the next parliament, and parliament will decide to do it if more than half of the MPs support the motion. Then we can elect her as president."
The clause says that no one with foreign relatives can take the job and is believed to have been written with Suu Kyi’s two sons in mind. However, following her party’s landslide win in the elections that saw them secure a parliamentary majority, Suu Kyi vowed to be "above" the president.
While legal experts with different interpretations are discussing the possibility of suspending section 59(f), such a move is not permitted under the 2008 constitution, which was drafted by the military at a period when the country was shifting toward semi-civilian rule.
Attempts to amend the constitution, on the other hand, need to secure the approval of more than 75 percent of parliament -- where 25 percent of all seats are handed to unelected military MPs, giving them veto power.
Aung Ko is known to be on good terms with Suu Kyi, much like his mentor outgoing Speaker Shwe Mann, beside whom he lost his position among the ruling party’s leadership during an inner-party coup four months ago, according to the Times.
Other members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), however, are not as willing to believe that the article can be suspended.
The Times quoted Zaw Myint Pe, a former USDP executive member, as saying, "I’ve heard about this but, in my opinion, it is impossible."
A legal adviser to Suu Kyi’s party, Ko Ni, told the newspaper that a “temporary suspension” of the clause was “theoretically possible” with a parliamentary majority, but would ultimately depend on the military being in agreement.
