The MPs have cast their ballots, the votes have been tallied, and the result is in: Htin Kyaw, the 69-year-old childhood friend of Aung San Suu Kyi, will take office as Myanmar’s next president on April 1.
He won 360 votes out of a total of 652 cast by lawmakers in Naypyitaw this morning.
Chin minority candidate Henry Van Thio scored 79 while the military’s pick, Myint Swe, won 213.
NLD supporters nervously watched the results come in from teashops in Yangon while thousands of people around the world saw the ballot counting screened live online.
“Yay yay,” wrote Pyae Sone on Skynet’s live screening site, when it became apparent Htin Kyaw was in the lead.
Myint Swe, who is massively unpopular with supporters of Suu Kyi’s NLD, which swept the polls last November, got the second highest number of votes, meaning he will be first vice-president.
Henry Van Thio, the NLD’s other candidate, will be second vice-president.
Despite Myanmar’s transition to democracy, the military retain a quarter of the seats in parliament.
According to Myanmar’s constitution, in the event that the president’s role becomes vacant, the first vice-presidency can assume the position for several weeks.
