Aung San Suu Kyi Confident NLD Won Myanmar Elections

In a recent interview, Aung San Suu Kyi said she is confident that her party, the National League for Democracy or the NLD, won majority in the parliament in the recent Myanmar elections. While initial results hinted at a sweeping victory for the party, it may take days before final official results are announced.

The recent election is considered as the most democratic in the country for a quarter of a century. Suu Kyi said while the recent election was not fair, it was “largely free.” She added a number of “areas of intimidation” were noted.

One-fourth of the 664 parliamentary seats are reserved for the army and it will be necessary for the NLD to win at least two-thirds of the remaining seats to have a winning majority.

Suu Kyi added that the NLD already won 75 percent of the seats in the Myanmar elections. The Union Solidarity Development Party or USDP, which enjoys the support of the military, has been in power in the country since 2001 when a transition from military rule to civilian rule started.

Aung San Suu Kyi was quite confident and appeared to sense that her hour has come. She said times and the people have changed. Since the opposition leader is barred by the constitution from holding office as president, she said major decisions will be made while the position is held by a colleague.

Aung San Suu Kyi Confident NLD Won Myanmar Elections - image credit: amnestyusa.org

The interview was held at the garden of the house where the opposition leader was held under house arrest. Aung San Suu Kyi has transformed from a symbol of an embattled democracy movement into a strong leader of the upcoming government of Myanmar.

The announcement of the results of the Myanmar elections is being done slowly. The NLD won 78 of the 88 seats announced by the election commission in the lower house, which has 440 seats. Carter Center election monitors said the elections were competitive and meaningful in many areas. However, the US-based group said a number of issues were noted, including the lack of transparency, inconsistencies in the availability fo preliminary results and preventing the members of the Rohingya Muslim minority casting their votes.

Win Htein, spokesman of the NLD said the release of the results was intentionally delayed by the election commission. However, even if the NLD wins majority of the seats at the Myanmar elections, Aung San Suu Kyi will not be allowed to become president since the constitutions prevents individuals with foreign children from holding the position.

However, the opposition leader said she can still make major decisions of the party even if another person served as president. The start of the selections process for president may take place in February.

Around thirty million people were qualified to vote in the recent Myanmar elections and voter turnout was estimated to have reached 80 percent. However, thousands were not allowed to vote, include the Rohingya. Suu Kyi was also criticized by some for not speaking up for the Muslims as her party did not field any Muslim candidate in the elections, like other parties.

However, she said the rights of Muslims will be protected by an NLD government and anybody promoting hatred should be prosecuted. She said prejudice and hatred are not removed easily and majority of the people want peace.

Posted by James Fried on Wednesday November 11 2015, 9:45 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0