Myanmar's President Htin Hyaw Resigns for Health Reasons

The president of Myanmar, Htin Hyaw, has resigned from his post for health-related reasons. He is one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s biggest allies.
His resignation comes at a time of increasing pressure on his administration over the Rohingya crisis and the role of the Burmese military in the violent attacks on Rohingya villages in Rakhine state.
Myanmar’s actions regarding their Rohingya population, of which 700,000 have fled across the country’s border into Bangladesh, has led to them being condemned by the international community.
The UN has described the situation as having “hallmarks of a genocide”. The Myanmar government have categorically denied that what their military are carrying out is ethnic cleansing.
It was Aung San Suu Kyi, who is banned from being the president because of the country’s Constitution, who put Htin Hyaw’s name forward to become the president. Since he was made president, Aung San Suu Kyi has had an influence on policy making and other affairs through him.
There had been reports of Htin Hyaw being ill but the government had denied the allegations. However, when resigning from his post, Htin Hyaw has said the reason is due to health issues and recovering from surgery and treatments he has been receiving.
“Yes, he has resigned. He just had an operation but it was successful. We will now start the process for electing the next president within seven working days according to the constitution,” Zaw Htay, the government spokesperson, told the Guardian.
In the meantime, Myint Swe, the vice-president who was nominated by the military, will be taking over the post until the candidates are put forward and the elections held.
> Naomi Round