Parliament Inaugurate Aung San Suu Kyi As Leader Of Myanmar Until 2025

Aung San Suu Kyi. (Wikimedia Commons / Michał Józefaciuk)

JAKARTA - Members of the Myanmar Parliament who were elected as a result of the General Election reappointed Aung San Suu Kyi for a second term as State Advisor or commonly referred to in Myanmar as Leader of Myanmar until 2025.

This statement is a form of resistance and opposition to Myanmar's military rule, as well as affirming the legitimacy of the Myanmar elections which the NLD won absolutely in November 2020.

Aung San Suu Kyi's position as State Advisor establishes her as the de facto informal leader of Myanmar. Although, according to the State Protocol, the Advisor is the second-highest-ranking state official after the President of Myanmar who is currently held by U Win Myint.

However, in Myanmar, there is a State Counselor Act. Launching The Irrawaddy, Aung San Suu Kyi was first appointed by the Myanmar Parliament as State Advisor in 2016, following the victory of the NLD led by Suu Kyi in the Myanmar elections on November 8, 2015.

However, Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally prohibited from becoming President of Myanmar, because her late husband Michael Vaillancourt Aris and sons Alexander Aris and Kim Aris have British citizenship.

Constitutionally drafted State Counselor Law which places Aung San Suu Kyi as State Advisor, in which the position, duties, powers, and responsibilities are the same as that of the Prime Minister. The term of office is valid for 5 years.

This law was passed by the upper house of the Myanmar Parliament on 1 April 2016 and by the lower house of the Myanmar Parliament on 5 April 2016, to be signed by President Htin Kyaw on 6 April 2016. The Myanmar military objected to this law but lost the vote sound.

The re-appointment of Aung San Suu Kyi was carried out, in line with the results of the Myanmar Election on November 8, 2020, which was won again by the NLD. Also, Aung San Suu Kyi's term of office ends on February 1, 2021, or when the Myanmar military staged a coup.