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                          Myanmar Elects New President

   by Steve Herman

   Myanmar's parliament has voted to elect Htin Kyaw as the country's next
   president.

   The retired bureaucrat from the National League for Democracy (NLD) won
   360 out of the 652 votes cast in a joint meeting of the legislature.

   Htin Kyaw is not a member of parliament, but he is a close confidant of
   NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was among the first to vote in the
   historic election.

   Read a brief biography of Htin Kyaw [1]here

   The Nobel Laureate is the obvious favorite of most Myanmar citizens,
   but she is barred from becoming president because both of her son's
   have foreign citizenship.

   However, Aung San Suu Kyi has declared she will retain ultimate power
   over her handpicked president. The military will remain powerful in the
   new government because it automatically holds one-quarter of the
   parliamentary seats and will control several key ministries.

   ''

   The army's candidate for president, General Myint Swe, who is the
   Yangon regional chief minister, placed second in the three man race and
   will become the first vice president.

   Henry Van Thio, a Christian from Chin state, finished third in the
   voting and will become second vice president.

   Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a Buddhist-dominated country of more
   than 55 million people that has seen nearly constant civil war since
   the end of British colonial rule in 1948.

   Since a nominally civilian government was installed in 2011 there has
   been progress in brokering peace deals with various factions. But
   low-intensity conflicts continue between the Myanmar army and a number
   of armed ethnic minority groups.

   The new government will take office on April 1.

   ''
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/myanmar-elects-new-president/3236994.
   html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/brief-bio-of-newly-elected-myanmar-president-htin-kyaw/3237006.html
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/myanmar-elects-new-president/3236994.html