Burma’s top three rulers have resigned from the military, a senior army source said, paving their way to assume the most powerful roles in the country after a parliamentary election.
The resignations mean military junta supremo Than Shwe and right-hand men, Muang Aye and Thura Shwe Man, are now civilians and can take the posts of president, vice president or government ministers after the November 7th polls, the first in two decades.
"All top leaders have given up their military positions and the vacant positions have been filled by juniors," the military source said.
The government will be formed by a civilian president chosen by the upper and lower houses following the nomination of three people. The two unsuccessful candidates become vice presidents.
The shake-up raises the possibility of 77-year-old Than Shwe, Burma's leader since 1992, being selected president, while his close allies Muang Aye (72), and Thura Shwe Man (62), become vice presidents.
Such appointments would reinforce a widely held view among political analysts that the elections amount to a charade in which the country’s top generals simply exchange army fatigues for civilian clothes without altering the nation's power structure.
It follows similar resignations earlier this year by 27 military officials, many of whom are now government ministers, which allows them to contest the polls under a party believed to be backed by the armed forces.
The polls will be the first in the country since 1990, when the party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi swept to victory but was denied the chance to rule. The result was ignored by the regime and annulled in March this year.
Critics have dismissed the polls as an elaborate stunt to cement the army's grip on politics, with elected civilians given roles as lawmakers but powerless to veto policy decisions still likely to be made, or at least influenced, by the military.
Reuters