Published 17:43 IST, November 10th 2020
Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD claims resounding victory in second democratic elections
National League for Democracy (NLD) of Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has claimed victory in the recently concluded polls, saying that it has won more than 2015.
National League for Democracy (NLD) of Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has claimed victory in the recently concluded polls, saying that it has won more than 322 seats needed to form a government in Myanmar. Suu Kyi was projected to win even before the elections began, now poll agents of her party have asserted that she is set to make the next government in the country, adding they will win more seats than 2015. Hundreds of NLD supporters were already seen celebrating in the streets of Yangon as they believe their leader is going to win.
According to NLD's Facebook handle, the party has won 238 seats in the lower house of the parliament and 112 in the upper house. If combined the NLD has surpassed the 322 magic number needed to win the election in Myanmar. Meanwhile, NLD's main opposition the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which was also being backed by the powerful military, has poorly performed in the election, winning just 21 seats in total.
The election in 2020 was marred with controversy as critics and opponents alleged it to be rigged in favour of Suu Kyi. The Election Commission of the country was accused of cancelling votes in constituencies, where Suu Kyi's opponents were predicted to win. However, the election body insists that the voting was cancelled because of the armed conflict in the area with local guerrilla groups. Myanmar also faced international condemnation for denying the right to vote to several minority groups, including Rohingyas.
Myanmar's newly formed democracy
November 8 was the second openly contested vote in Myanmar after the 2015 elections, which saw Aung San Suu Kyi become the first democratically elected leader of the country after 50-years of junta rule. Despite winning the 2015 polls with a landslide victory, the Nobel laureate faced international scrutiny after she oversaw the genocide of lakhs of Rohingyas. Under Suu Kyi's rule, nearly 8,00,000 Rohingya Muslims had to flee Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh following state-sponsored persecution in the Buddhist-majority country.
Myanmar's transition from junta rule received international recognition but many say that the people of the country are yet to see real democracy. When the military rule ended in 2015, the newly formed democracy was supported by a constitution, which again is a matter of discussion for many because the Army played a major role in the drafting of the charter and retained a wide range of powers. There are seats in the parliament reserved for the Army and it even gets a large chunk when the cabinet is formed, which makes it a vital component in the country's powerplay.
Updated 17:43 IST, November 10th 2020