International
Romeo Gacad / AFP / Getty Images
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday she would be "above the president" if her party wins in the Nov. 8 elections, defying a constitutional provision barring her from being head of state.
The general election is the first since a quasi-civilian government took power in 2011 after nearly 50 years of a military dictatorship and is widely regarded as a referendum on Myanmar's reform process.
In a wide-ranging news conference Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said repeatedly that she has a plan, which she declined to reveal, that would allow her to lead the country from behind the scenes. She is barred from the presidency because the constitution prohibits people with a foreign spouse or children from holding the office; her late husband was British, and their two sons hold British passports.
She expressed confidence that if her party wins at the polls, as it is expected to, she will lead the next government.
"I will be above the president. It's a very simple message," Suu Kyi said without elaborating. Asked if her plan would violate the constitution she replied, "The constitution says nothing about being 'above the president."'
The polls are the first time since 1990 that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party has contested elections. Her party won the 1990 elections by a landslide, but the military junta annulled the results and placed her under house arrest.
Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest and was released five years ago, just days after the 2011 elections that her party boycotted, saying they were neither free nor fair.
Suu Kyi on Thursday said she is concerned about the Election Commission's failure to stop reported irregularities before the vote.
"We have had complaints about the ways in which some parties and individuals have been breaking rules and regulations by the (Election Commission), but little action has been taken on the part of the commission."
The long gap between the elections on Sunday and the new government taking power in February was also a cause for concern, she said.
In a video at the start of her two-month campaign, she requested vigilance from the international community during the transition period, which she said was almost as important as a free and fair election.
The political activity of the radical Buddhist group Ma Ba Tha was unconstitutional, Suu Kyi said. The group has sharply criticized the NLD for not supporting an array of Ma Ba Tha–drafted legislation that is seen as anti-Muslim.
Suu Kyu said that the problems of the Rohingya, the country's persecuted Muslim minority living in western Rakhine state, should not be exaggerated and that the whole country was experiencing a "dramatic situation" ahead of the voting.
Suu Kyi has been widely criticized for not speaking out enough on the Rohingya, who live in apartheid-like conditions in Rakhine.
Wire services
More than 90 parties have registered in the country’s much anticipated upcoming elections, the first in over two decades
Nobel Laureate promises Yangon crowd change ahead of landmark election marred by claims minorities have been left out
Myanmar had been making gains in press freedom, but rights groups say jailing shows the country is back to its old ways
Error
Sorry, your comment was not saved due to a technical problem. Please try again later or using a different browser.