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.
The Nobel Laureate is the obvious favorite of most Myanmar citizens, but she is barred from becoming president because both of her sons 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, placed second in the three man race and will become the first vice president.