Yaho – AFP,
Aidan Jones, Hla-Hla Htay, 13 Nov 2015
Myanmar
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency
by a the
constitution but has vowed to govern from "above the president"
(AFP
Photo/Ye Aung Thu)
|
Aung San
Suu Kyi's party secured a landslide election victory in Myanmar on Friday,
propelling the pro-democracy movement to power after a 25-year struggle against
authoritarian rule.
It promises
a new dawn for a country asphyxiated by half a century of army rule that
battered the economy and repressed its people.
In a
reflection of rapid changes that have swept the country, confirmation of the
win came five years to the day since Suu Kyi was released from house arrest by
the military.
A giant
graffiti depiction of Myanmar's
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi outside
the
headquarters of the National League
for Democracy party (NLD) in Yangon
(AFP
Photo/Ye Aung Thu)
|
The NLD on
Friday sailed through the two-thirds majority it needs to rule, claiming 364
parliamentary seats with a number of results yet to be declared.
The
election has won praise from observers for its smooth, peaceful passing, in a country
where violence and repression has normally met democratic milestones.
"We
have been ready to form a new government for many years," party spokesman
Nyan Win told AFP, greeting the result.
Suu Kyi,
70, has not spoken to the party faithful since Monday.
In Yangon
there were no immediate signs of celebration after the party figurehead urged
restraint from supporters, aware of the threat of a backlash in a country where
the army's writ remains large.
Under
Myanmar's complex political system, the NLD will also have to wait until March
next year for the transfer of power.
That gap
has left some party loyalists nervous at the potential for political chicanery
by an army establishment that wields substantial power, despite its chastening
at the polls.
But the
comfortable majority gives Suu Kyi's party control of the lower and upper
houses, allowing it to elect the president and form the government.
Long wait
Suu Kyi,
70, is barred from the presidency by a junta-scripted constitution, which also
guarantees the army a 25-percent bloc of seats.
She has
already vowed to govern from "above the president" saying she will
circumnavigate the charter ban by backing a proxy to run for the top office.
Myanmar's
President Thein Sein (R) leaves after casting his vote in Naypyidaw
on November
8, 2015 (AFP Photo/Str)
|
The win
represents a huge stride in Suu Kyi's decades-long journey from political
prisoner, held under house arrest for 15 years by the former junta, to the
heart of power.
Many NLD
supporters have waited 25 years for their vote to count.
"I'm
so happy... Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will do more for us than the current
government," said 66-year-old street vendor Moe Thu.
Buoyed by
her party's sweep of the polls, Suu Kyi has called for "national
reconciliation talks" with President Thein Sein and army chief Min Aung
Hlaing.
Both men
have congratulated the NLD on its election performance and have vowed to abide
by the result as well as help a peaceful transition of power.
The lower
house speaker Shwe Mann has also been invited to talks but his political stock
appears low after losing his seat and falling out with many senior figures from
the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party.
The USDP, which is made up of former military cadres, has been mauled at the election.
The USDP, which is made up of former military cadres, has been mauled at the election.
Yet the president, a former general who swapped his uniform for civilian clothes to lead the government in 2011, has won praise for steering the reforms that culminated in Sunday's peaceful poll.
UN
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Suu Kyi for her election win, but
also hailed the "courage and vision" of Thein Sein for
"leadership in the reform process".
Those
reforms have seen many political prisoners released, the restoration of basic
freedoms and the economy resuscitated after years of madcap junta planning.
The
international community has welcomed the election, with US President Barack
Obama calling both Suu Kyi and the president to offer his congratulations.
Obama has
spent great efforts on helping Myanmar's transition from authoritarian rule to
an emergent democracy, visiting the country twice in the last four years.
Yet the
country's military is not about to disappear. It retains major influence with
its parliamentary bloc, which effectively assures a veto over constitutional
change.
It also has
key ministerial posts reserved under the charter.
Many NLD
supporters remain deeply suspicious of the army and its political allies, who
are notorious for dirty tricks and crackdowns that have left hundreds dead and
thousands jailed.
Dates in the life of #AungSanSuuKyi pic.twitter.com/IgaMtQfzNw
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) November 13, 2015
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