Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says if her party wins Burma's upcoming general election, she will lead the country from behind the scenes - side-stepping a clause in the constitution that bars her from the presidency.
If the November 8 vote is credible, most observers believe Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party will win the most seats in the country's parliament and could even control a majority by forming a coalition with smaller parties.
"I've made it quite clear that if the NLD wins the elections and we form a government, I'm going to be the leader of that government whether or not I'm the president," Ms Suu Kyi, 70, told Indian television channel India Today TV in a wide-ranging interview.
A clause in the 2008 constitution, drafted when the country was under military rule, says anyone whose spouse or children have foreign citizenship cannot hold the president's office. This prevents Ms Suu Kyi from taking the job because her late husband and two children are British nationals.
The clause was widely perceived as tailor-made to block Ms Suu Kyi and an insurmountable hurdle for her. But her comments showed her clear determination to get around it and will also give renewed boost to hopes for a more democratic Burma, also known as Myanmar.
Asked how she could be the leader without being the president, Ms Suu Kyi replied with a smile: "Why not? Do you have to be a president in order to lead a country?"
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