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RANGOON, Burma – Parliament Speaker Shwe Mann will run for president in 2015, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday (June 11th), according to AFP.
![In this June 7th official photo, Burma lower house speaker Shwe Mann (centre) and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (left) meet with Philippines President Benigno Aquino (right) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Nay Pwi Daw. Mann announced Tuesday (June 11th) he will run for president in the 2015 elections. [AFP]](/shared/images/2013/06/12/130612-POTD_SEA_CANDIDATES_BM-310_207.jpg)
In this June 7th official photo, Burma lower house speaker Shwe Mann (centre) and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (left) meet with Philippines President Benigno Aquino (right) on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Nay Pwi Daw. Mann announced Tuesday (June 11th) he will run for president in the 2015 elections. [AFP]
Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is the only other declared candidate at this point.
Shwe Mann, a former general, is considered a main architect of reforms since the junta ended in 2011.
"I will run for president because it is the key post to work for the betterment of the country and the people's interest," he told Radio Free Asia's Burma service during a visit to Washington on Monday, according to a report on their website. "If there were a position higher than or more important than the president, I would want that post."
Incumbent Thein Sein has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election.
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