The party of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi claimed victory on Monday in virtually every seat in four states where results of Myanmar’s historic parliamentary election were known. The party signalled a sweep that could give it the presidency and further loosen the military’s hold.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) said it had won 44 of the 45 lower house seats and all 12 of the upper house seats from the party stronghold of Yangon. It also won all 38 seats in Ayeyarwaddy state, all but one of the 40 in Bago, and 11 out of 19 lower house seats and all 10 upper house seats in Mon state.
The trend is expected to continue in the remaining states.
Even without official results, it was clear that the Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) was facing a rout. The party is made of former junta members who ruled the Southeast Asian country for a half-century and as a quasi-civilian government since 2011. Many of its leaders conceded personal defeats in their races.
The United States congratulated Myanmar on the election but noted that more work remains ahead on the country’s road to democracy.
Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-democracy icon, had urged supporters earlier in the day not to provoke losing rivals.
If present figures are confirmed, it would mean that Suu Kyi’s party would not only dominate Parliament, but could also secure the presidency despite handicaps built into the constitution.
I want Mother Suu to win in this election. She has the skill to lead the country. I respect her so much. I love her. She will change our country in a very good way.Ma Khine, Street Vendor
A two-thirds majority would give NLD control over the executive posts under Myanmar’s complicated parliamentary-presidency system. A quarter of the 664 seats are reserved for the military.
After Jan. 31, all 664 legislators will cast ballots and the top vote-getter becomes President, while the other two will be Vice Presidents.
A constitutional amendment bars anyone with a foreign spouse or child from being president or vice president, meaning Suu Kyi is not eligible for those posts. Her two sons are British, as was her late husband.
Suu Kyi has said, however, that she will act as the country’s leader if the NLD wins the presidency, saying she will be “above the president.”
The junta, which seized power in a 1962 coup, annulled the results when Suu Kyi’s party won a sweeping election victory in 1990. A new vote was held in 2010, but the opposition boycotted it, calling the election laws unfair.
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