The Myanmar legislature on Wednesday elected U Win Myint, a close ally of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the new president of the country. U Win Myint had stepped down last week as the speaker of Myanmar’s lower house of Parliament, Reuters reported.
U Win Myint on Wednesday secured 403 out of 636 votes in Parliament, the Myanmar Times reported. His closest rival, U Myint Swe, secured a little over 200 votes, and the third candidate, U Henry Van Thio, got 20 votes.
“Today’s result is a triumph for Aung San Suu Kyi,” U Htin Kyaw said. U Win Myint is a leader of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
U Htin Kyaw, a friend of Suu Kyi, had resigned as president on March 21. Speaker Tun Tun Hein did not say when U Win Myint would be sworn in.
The president is the head of state and government in Myanmar. However, Kyaw Tote, a lawmaker from the National League for Democracy, said there would not be any major policy changes after U Win Myint’s appointment, Reuters reported.
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