Aung San Suu Kyi confidante Htin Kyaw elected Myanmar president

Myanmar's parliament, the Hluttaw, has chosen Htin Kyaw as the country's new president, formally bringing to a close decades of military rule.

It is widely expected that the new leader, who was elected to the position by 360 votes, more than a third of the parliament's available 652 votes, will essentially act as a proxy for the majority National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is constitutionally barred from running for the county's highest office.

Suu Kyi has previously said that, despite being barred from running, she will be "above the president."

The two other candidates put forward, Khin Aung Myint and Henry Van Thio, by the army and the upper house, respectively, will act as first and second vice president. With 213 votes, Khin Aung Myint will be first vice president and Henry Van Thio, with 79, second vice president.