PATHEIN — Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told a weekend rally that her National League for Democracy (NLD) would renounce power and step down from cabinet positions if it won power in the coming election and subsequently lost the support of the Burmese people.
The Nobel Laureate’s claims came during a public appearance in the Irrawaddy Division town of Mawlamyinegyun on Sunday, attended by more than 10,000 people from the town and surrounding villages.
“If people do not want us after they have elected our party to government, we will step down willingly and we won’t stubbornly keep our grip on power,” Suu Kyi told the jubilant crowd.
She went on to say that the results of the November election would shape the future of the country and called on voters to give their complete support to the NLD if they wanted to see positive changes in Burma.
Suu Kyi said that national reconciliation would remain her party’s top priority and said the NLD was ready to form a new government as soon as it wins the election.
“Even if we won 100 percent of the vote and formed government, we will never forget the need for national reconciliation,” she said. “Our goal is to join hands with other organizations and work in cooperation, instead of oppressing or conquering them.”
Suu Kyi told the crowd that Article 59(f) of the country’s 2008 Constitution, which prohibits those with relatives in possession of foreign citizenship from contesting the presidency, is a deliberate attempt to prevent her from becoming head of state, and her party would continue in its attempts to amend the provision if it won the November poll.
“Only after we ensure a total victory in the election will steps be taken to change Article 59(f),” she said. “I am not passionate about the presidency. I will be satisfied if I have a role that can serve the interests of the people and the country.”
On a tour through the southern districts of Irrawaddy Division over the weekend, the NLD leader also met monks and elders from Kyaiklat and Mawlamyinegyun townships before returning to Rangoon on Sunday afternoon.
