by Feng Yingqiu
YANGON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- A presidential electoral process of Myanmar's union parliament has been underway since Tuesday with three groups of parliamentary representatives-elect each nominating their candidates to run for presidential election.
The three groups comprise those of parliamentary house of representatives-elect, parliamentary house of nationalities-elect and military-nominated parliamentary representatives.
So far, the group of house of representatives-elect has nominated U Thein Sein, current Prime Minister from Nay Pyi Taw region's Zabuthiri constituency, and U Saw Thein Aung from Hlaingbwe constituency as candidates, while the group of house of nationalities-elect has nominated Dr. Sai Mauk Kham of Shan state constituency-3 and Dr. Aye Maung of Rakhine state constituency-1 as candidates.
The group of military-nominated parliamentary representatives is reported to be still carrying out the electoral process, expecting that the nominee from the military will be revealed on Thursday when the current union parliament session resumes after it adjourned on Wednesday.
The meeting for the nomination of candidate by the group of military-nominated parliamentary representatives is still underway involving the personal attendance of Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Than She, who is also Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), according to Wednesday's official daily report.
It is most likely that Thiha Thura U Tin Aung Myint Oo, SPDC First Secretary, will be the sole nominee to run for the presidential election, observers here said.
Speakers of each level of the parliament will scrutinize the nominees' qualification and prepare a final list of vice presidents on Wednesday to put up to the union parliament session for the continued presidential election process on Thursday.
According to the new state constitution, each parliamentary group can nominate only one candidate in the last for the presidential run and candidate, who wins the most number of votes, will be the president-elect, while the remaining two be vice presidents-elect. The president will form a new government.
The union parliament is constituted with two level of parliaments -- house of representatives and house of nationalities which involves elected ones in the November 2010 general election and military-nominated ones.
Of the nominees by the group of house of representatives-elect, Prime Minister U Thein Sein represents the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and Saw Thein Aung represents the Phalon- Sawaw Democratic Party in Kayin state, while of the nominees by the group of house of nationalities-elect, Dr. Sai Mon Khun is also from the USDP and Dr. Aye Aung comes from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP).
On Monday's first session of each level of the parliament, No. 3 Myanmar state leader Thura U She Mann, who is SPDC member and previously a general holding the military post of chief of general staff of the army, the navy and the air force, was elected as speaker of the house of representatives, while U Khin Aung Myint, Minister of Culture, was elected as speaker of the house of nationalities.
The union parliament is chaired by U Khin Aung Myint for a term of two and a half years according to the state constitution.
On Monday, the first sessions of region or state parliaments also elected speakers of their respective parliaments.
Myanmar started its first three-chamber parliament sessions simultaneously Monday morning with the sessions of the house of representatives (lower house) and house of nationalities (upper house) taking place at the newly-built parliament buildings in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw, while the sessions of region or state parliament also began separately in 14 respective regions or states on the same day.
The summon for the first sessions of the three-level parliaments in two decades by the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) came nearly three months after the end of the multi-party general election on Nov. 7 , 2010.
A total of 1,542 parliament representatives including 1,154 elected through the Nov. 7, 2010 general election and 388 or 25 percent through direct nomination by the military are expected to attend the first three-level parliamentary sessions.
The 659 union parliament representatives (house of representatives and house of nationalities) are made up of 493 elected ones and 166, or 25 percent, directly nominated military ones.
Of the 493 elected parliamentary house of representatives and house of nationalities, 388 come mainly from the majority winning Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by Prime Minister U Thein Sein, 17 from the National Unity Party (NUP), 21 from The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), 16 from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) and 12 from the National Democratic Force (NDF).
In the 2010 general election, 1,154 candidates out of over 3, 000 representing political parties in contesting were elected as parliamentary representatives at three levels, in which 325 as representatives to the house of representatives, 168 as representatives to the house of nationalities and 661 as representatives to the region or state parliament.
Thirty-seven political parties, including 82 independents, took part in the parliamentary election held across the country's seven regions and seven ethnic states in November last year.
