New Analysis: Possible reasons for Suu Kyi's absence from list of Myanmar's parliamentary nomination

The 13th session of Myanmar's Union Parliament ended in Myanmar's new capital Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday, with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the election-winning opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD) not nominated as the speaker of either of the two Houses.

On Thursday, the NLD nominated its two elected parliament representatives, U Win Myint and U Mann Win Khaing Than, to act respectively as the new speaker of the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the House of Nationalities (Upper House) of the next parliament.

U Ti Khun Myat from the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and U Aye Tha Aung of the Arakan National Party were nominated respectively as their deputies.

The arrangement came as no surprise as the NLD gained last year a landslide victory in Myanmar's general election under the leadership of Suu Kyi, but the female leader's absence from the list of the Southeast Asian country's parliamentary nomination has garnered widespread attention.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF NEW PARLIAMENT

After the NLD's resounding victory in November elections, Myanmar is on the threshold of a long-anticipated political handover.

The new parliament, which will open a new session on Feb. 1, is tasked with responsibilities of electing new speakers and a new president as well as forming a new cabinet.

For the outside world, particular attention will be paid to how the NLD will cooperate with the outgoing USDP and whether parties representing different nationalities and regions could reach reconciliation under the parliamentary mechanism.

Whether the new president and the government would be able to unite all powers to promote Myanmar's political, economic and social development will be also under scrutiny.

The nomination, analysts said, gave full consideration to the balance and unity among different parties, their respective needs, as well as national reconciliation, demonstrating the NLD's expectation to build a stable, enduring parliament, and to seek national unity.

The party has also attempted to seek national unity in the new government and is likely to absorb ethnic leaders to take key roles in the new administration and even invite officials of the former ruling party to be part of the new cabinet.

SUU KYI'S FUTURE ROLE

Because of the British citizenship of her son and her late husband, Suu Kyi is not qualified to assume the office of Myanmar's president but she is eligible to serve as the parliamentary speaker, according to Article 59 of the country's constitution.

With her strong domestic political influence, Suu Kyi has enjoyed an unparalleled status within the NLD. There were speculations that she would assume the post of parliamentary speaker and play a role in Myanmar's politics.

Therefore, the announcement of Myanmar's parliamentary nominations on Thursday came as a surprise to many.

However, the possibility remains that she could still become president if the constitution were revised, a move that would require a lengthy referendum and support from all political powers.

Another possibility would be that the newly-formed Union Parliament could vote to freeze Article 59 and then elect Suu Kyi as the new national leader. In Myanmar's history, the parliament once voted to freeze a certain article of the law, but that move was highly controversial then.

Or instead of acting as the president, Suu Kyi could assume a certain post in the new government, thus being a part of the National Security Council and having some influence on the new government's policies through the NLD-elected president.

Observers said Suu Kyi, though being fully aware of the importance of parliament, nevertheless abandoned the chance to lead it, in a show of the NLD's political efforts to unite all parties and ambition to form a more representative parliament.

But it could also be a deliberate arrangement aimed at actually helping her play a more influential role in implementing new policies. Endi