Myanmar’s opposition party wins parliament majority after polls
Myanmar’s opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD) has secured a historic majority in the country’s parliament following elections, enabling it to form the Southeast Asian country’s first civilian government in more than half a century.
With the votes still being counted, Myanmar’s election commission said on Friday that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD had won 80 percent of the seats, more than the two-thirds it needs to control the parliament and select the president.
According to the results, the NLD won 348 seats, crossing the 329 threshold for a majority in the 664-member, two-house parliament.
The ruling pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has so far secured 40 seats.
On Wednesday, Myanmar’s Information Minister Ye Htut said that President Thein Sein and the army would respect the results of the “free and fair” elections, which were held on November 8.
Ye Htut, who is also the president’s spokesman, said that the government will pursue a peaceful transfer of power “in accordance with the legislated timeline.”
The results indicate a resounding rejection of military rule in Myanmar, which has been under army control for more than 50 years.
Myanmar’s elections came while Muslim candidates were barred from taking part in the race, and the country’s persecuted minority Rohingya Muslims were also deprived of the right to vote.
Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, mostly living in the western state of Rakhine, have been subject to systematic repression by extremist Buddhists since the country’s independence in 1948.
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