Myanmar speaker 'could run for presidency and would consider forming coalition with Suu Kyi'

Myanmar's parliament speaker, who is a former junta member, says he will run for the nation's presidency if nominated by the ruling party - and would consider forming a coalition with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Shwe Mann said on a visit to Washington that high-level political talks involving Suu Kyi, and chiefs of the government, army and parliament, would soon indicate whether constitutional reforms sought by the opposition leader could be expedited before parliamentary elections. Suu Kyi is currently barred from running in the election because she has sons by a foreign national.

The vote, due by November, is a critical point in Myanmar's bumpy transition from five decades of direct military rule.

As things stand, Shwe Mann is a likely front runner. He was No. 3 in the junta, and is now a senior figure in the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party. He became speaker of the lower house of parliament after the last national elections in 2010, which Suu Kyi's party boycotted.

Asked if he was willing to form a coalition with Suu Kyi's party, Shwe Mann had warm words for the former political prisoner, who is well-respected in the US.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and myself are very good friends," he said. At the same time, we could be very good competitors." "Daw" is the Burmese honorific for women.