"Ye Ni: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, we’ll discuss how the National League for Democracy (NLD) will select candidates for the coming general election, the possible results of the election and what the NLD has achieved over the past five years. First NLD Vice-Chairman and Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung has joined me to discuss this. I’m The Irrawaddy Burmese editor Ye Ni. First of all, I would like to thank you for participating in The Irrawaddy’s Dateline program. Zaw Myint Maung: Yes. YN: First, I would like to ask about your health. Many are interested in your health status. In a recent interview, you said confidently that your health is good and you will continue to engage in politics. Will you run in the 2020 general election? ZMM: As you know, I am suffering from a certain type of leukemia. But, there are medical treatments available in foreign countries that can allow me to live with it like people can live with diabetes. It is no longer that life threatening. There are new remedies, so if I keep my immune system fit and avoid contracting other diseases, the treatment can extend my lifespan. But, I need to be on medication for around two years. I am fine for light activities, but have not yet fully recovered. [Doctors] said it will take three months for me to return to normal [after my most treatment in Bangkok]. It has been just a few weeks since then. But I feel like I am stronger, and can do light activities. I have joined dozens of video conferences during ongoing quarantine [for the coronavirus]. I am committed to politics. I have said [in an interview] in Yangon that I will continue to engage in politics, playing the role assigned to me. I don’t know how it was misunderstood that I would not contest in the coming election. The journey to democracy is not yet over. We have yet to work for democracy to develop and thrive in Myanmar. In the 2015 election, we performed the role we were assigned to play. We did not choose. The party leadership in consultation decided who should be part of the Union-level government and who should be part of the region and state governments. We will continue to take the roles assigned by the party leadership in 2020..."