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Suu Kyi Concerned by Shwe Mann Ouster

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FILE - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to journalists during a press conference at a parliament building, April 9, 2015.
FILE - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks to journalists during a press conference at a parliament building, April 9, 2015.

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi voiced concerns Tuesday about the removal of parliament speaker Shwe Mann as chairman of the country's ruling party last week.

Speaking as lawmakers gathered for their final meetings before elections in November, Suu Kyi described Shwe Mann's purge from leading the Union Solidarity and Development Party as undemocratic.

"As for the happenings in the middle of the night, this is not what you expect from a working democracy," she said.

Shwe Mann remains in place as speaker, but is facing a separate push by some members of parliament that would open him to possible impeachment.

Suu Kyi said Tuesday that the proposed legislation is "ridiculous."

She met on Monday with Shwe Mann, who has supported her bid to reform the country's constitution.

Myanmar is scheduled to hold general elections on November 8, the first such vote since decades of military rule ended in 2011.

President Thein Sein, who ousted Shwe Mann as part of a major political shakeup ahead of the vote, is not running for re-election as a parliamentary candidate but could still be a nominee for president.

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy party, is constitutionally barred from running for president.

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