2nd LD Writethru: Myanmar former ruling party chairman U Thein Sein resigns

Chairman of Myanmar's former ruling party - the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) U Thein Sein has resigned from the party leadership, sources with the USDP Central Executive Committee said Tuesday.

U Thein Sein, also ex-president of the country, made the resignation at the party's second day meeting of the Second Nationwide Party Conference in Nay Pyi Taw.

U Thein Sein's post was replaced by U Than Htay, who served as a brigadier- general in the military and was minister for energy and minister for rail transportation during the tenure of U Thein Sein's government.

The party's vice chairman, U Htay Oo, also resigned, the sources said, adding that the resignation of both the chairman and the vice chairman aims at paving way for new generation leaders to take up the posts, while the two former leaders retain as patrons of the party.

The party central- level reform includes naming U Myat Hein as vice chairman, U Thet Naing Win as general secretary and five others as secretaries.

On the first day of the USDP's Second Nationwide Party Conference, U Thein Sein vowed to adopt a new strategy in accordance with the desire of the people without altering its original objective.

He called for re-assessment of the 2015 general election and reformation of the party at each level from bottom up to the central level, stressing party consolidation, revival of democracy within the party and working hand-in-hand with new generation party members.

He recalled that during the tenure of the USDP-led government, it was able to implement the national reconciliation and domestic peace process, calling for all stakeholders including the government, the armed forces, ethnic parties and political parties to participate in the process and coordinate for laying down a national objective in the interests of the country and people.

Meanwhile, the USDP revealed at a recent workshop that it is preparing to submit its peace policy to the new government-led 21st Century Panglong Ethnic Conference slated for the end of this month in the capital.

The USDP once made a major reshuffle of its leadership in August 2015 ahead of the year's Nov. 8 general election, reforming its 47-member central executive committee (CEC) and retaining then President U Thein Sein as the party's chairman.

The USDP lost to then opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, in the 2015 general election, holding only 10 percent of the total of the parliamentary seats.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's new election commission said on Monday that a by-election will be held at the beginning of 2017 to fill the vacant parliamentary seats left by those who became government leaders or officials after the 2015 general election. Endit