Myanmar lawmakers put junta chief on path to presidency
Myanmar lawmakers elected junta chief Min Aung Hlaing a vice-president on Tuesday, bringing the coup leader closer to becoming the country's civilian leader.
The former commander in chief has led Myanmar since 2021, when he ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered civil war.
Tuesday's lower house vote could see him exchange his uniform for civilian clothes, as one of the three vice-presidents will go on to be chosen as president by parliament.
On the lower house floor, lawmakers queued up at a row of tables and dropped their ballots into one of three clear-sided boxes.
Lower house speaker Khin Yi confirmed Min Aung Hlaing's election after the vote.
Min Aung Hlaing received 247 of the 260 votes, a parliament official said, according to a live broadcast.
"Since we were selecting qualified individuals, our party... nominated Senior General Min Aung Hlaing," said MP Hla Swe from the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
"We expect that as president he will lead the country and continue to work towards achieving tangible development. That is why he was chosen."
The upper house, meanwhile, elected Nan Ni Ni Aye, a regional MP from Karen state with USDP, as another vice-president, the junta said in a statement.
The military picked current Prime Minister Nyo Saw as a third vice-president, the junta said in a separate statement.
The parliament-wide vote to select the president is expected this week.
Democracy watchdogs have long warned that the new government will be a proxy of the military, which has ruled Myanmar for the vast majority of its post-independence history.
Myanmar's military has long presented itself as the only force guarding the restive country from rupture and ruin.
The generals loosened their grip for a decade-long democratic experiment beginning in 2011, allowing Aung San Suu Kyi to ascend as civilian leader and steer a period of reform as the nation opened up.
But after Aung San Suu Kyi trounced the USDP in a landslide in 2020 elections, Min Aung Hlaing snatched back power as he grew anxious about the military's waning influence, analysts say.
After five years of hardline rule, the top general oversaw heavily restricted elections that returned a walkover win for pro-military parties in January.
Now the USDP -- led and staffed by many retired officers -- is entrenched in parliament after winning 80 percent of elected seats, and it is expected the new government will march in lockstep with the top brass.
Min Aung Hlaing is expected to manage a carefully orchestrated transition to becoming president, after he handed over the reins of the military to loyalist Ye Win Oo on Monday.
O.Auer--NWT
