The leader of Myanmar’s ruling party was ousted by the country’s president in a dramatic swoop on Thursday as the army and its allies strengthened their political grip ahead of crucial elections.
The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has been gripped by in-fighting in the run up to the November polls — billed as the freest and fairest for decades in the former-junta ruled nation.
After a night of high political drama which saw security forces enter the USDP base in Naypyidaw, Shwe Mann — who is also the parliamentary speaker — was ousted in an unexpected party putsch.
The USDP, which served as a vehicle for former junta figures to transform into MPs, issued a statement Thursday confirming President Thein Sein had stepped in to appoint a new leader, Htay Oo, in order for the party to be run more “effectively”.
“The party needed to be reformed for party unity,” it said.
The move comes a day before the deadline for candidates to register to contest the upcoming polls.
Recent months have seen rumours of animosity between Shwe Mann and Thein Sein, both former generals who shed their uniforms to play central roles in Myanmar’s reforms.
While Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party is expected to make major gains at the November polls, the Nobel laureate is barred by a junta-drafted constitution from becoming the president.