Myanmar's New President Elected in a Democratic Process

Tin Chiao, a prominent democracy advocate in Myanmar, has been elected as the new president of the country. Mr. Chiao is the first person to reach the presidency of Myanmar in a democratic manner in the last 50 years. The majority of the members of the Myanmar parliament voted for 69-year-old Mr. Chiao on Tuesday, March 25. Tin Chiao is a longtime friend and ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democracy movement in Myanmar. Myanmar is located in Southeast Asia and was known as Burma until 1948 when it became independent from British colonial rule. The country was under military rule from 1962 to 2011, a period of half a century. During the military generals' rule over Myanmar, torture, detention, and murder of political opponents were commonplace. Bill Clinton, the then-President of the United States, imposed sanctions on Myanmar in 1997. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democracy advocates in Myanmar, who was under house arrest for 15 years, always supported U.S. sanctions against the country. International pressure and economic sanctions against the military government of Myanmar eventually led to a relatively free referendum in 2010, after which the government initiated a series of political reforms. Finally, in 2015, the first free elections in Myanmar after 15 years were held, and the National League for Democracy, led by Ms. Suu Kyi, was able to gain a majority in the country's parliament. However, Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be elected as president due to the British citizenship of her children and according to Myanmar's constitution. Nevertheless, the new president stated that his election to this position is actually considered a 'victory for Sister Suu Kyi.' The military representative for the presidency also failed to gain a majority of votes from the parliament members.