When asked if she believed the results would be accepted, Ms Suu Kyi said “people are far more politicised now” than both in the 1990 general election as well as the 2012 by-elections. The junta stayed in power, and most of the NLD’s leadership was jailed for protesting the announcement.
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Attention was riveted on what has been called the “magic number” for Suu Kyi’s party.
According to the latest results from Myanmar’s election commission, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party needs 38 more seats to acquire a majority in the 664-member, two-house Parliament.
The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party had a total of 51 seats, including 17 in the Lower House, four in the Upper House and 30 in the Region or State Parliament.
Myanmar’s President has joined the army chief in congratulating Aung San Suu Kyi’s Opposition after it swept national elections, and promised a smooth transition of power.
In a sign she intends to play a key role, Suu Kyi requested meetings with the military chief, current president and the chairman of parliament next week, apparently to discuss the formation of the new government.
When drafting the 2008 Constitution, the army did their math, setting out that 25% of parliamentary seats must be appointed by the military, and then requiring that any constitutional amendment have 75% support. But while an NLD majority assures it of being able to elect the president, Suu Kyi remains barred from the office by a constitutional provision inserted by the military before it transferred power to Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government in 2011. He said the government and the military will respect the results of the “free and fair elections”.
In an interview last month Suu Kyi, who had spent around 15 years under house arrest between 1989 and 2010, said she was saddened when India was turning back on democracy to maintain good ties with military government in Myanmar.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s pledge to work towards “national reconciliation” has also been strongly encouraged by western governments.
Just minutes later, presidential spokesman Ye Htut also took to Facebook to announce that Thein Sein had received the letter.
Ben Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters Thursday that Suu Kyi “is in a very strong position as the leader of the NLD to be a leading voice about the future direction of the country”.
After decades cloistered from the world by the military and driven into penury, Myanmar caught the eye of the world after it creaked open in 2011 under a semi-civilian government.
The constitution also requires that only serving military officers can lead the three most powerful ministries – Defense, Home Affairs, and Border Affairs – and prevents legislative scrutiny of the military’s budget.
The military and the largest parties in the upper house and the lower house will each nominate a candidate for president.
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If the NLD secures a two-thirds majority of the parliamentary seats at stake – a likely scenario now – it would gain control over the executive posts under Myanmar’s complicated parliamentary-presidency system.
