The Union Election Board has been slow in announcing official results, though the outcome has generally been a foregone conclusion, with both the NLD earlier claiming victory and the ruling party informally conceding.
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Nearly complete returns released by the Election Commission yesterday showed Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy with a huge majority that gives it control of the lower and upper houses of Parliament, along with enough votes to dictate who will be president when the new lawmakers convene their first session next year.
“We trust that the newly elected government will improve the democratic governance of the country and will promote a more inclusive society by addressing the increase in religious extremism and radical room and its impact on certain minorities and ethnic groups, in particular Muslim citizens, and specifically the Rohingya”, European parliament member Ana Gomes said last week.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe congratulating the political prisoner turned de facto leader of Myanmar said her “relentless struggle” for democracy over the years through “peaceful means and sacrifice” has given her and her party this landslide victory.
Sein made similar statements online but publicly asserted them at a meeting of political leaders in Yangon on Sunday. By Sunday morning, it had won about 78 percent of the combined houses – 387 of the 498 non-military seats, while the ruling military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party had just 41. The NLD has 387.
The military has also said that it would abide by the election result, and respect the voice of the people. The dialogue is supposed to begin by mid-January. It will immediately choose a new speaker, quite possibly Ms Suu Kyi, before selecting two vice-presidents and a president.
Suu Kyi is Myanmar’s most popular politician and, if the elections are credible, the NLD is widely expected to win the largest number of seats in parliament.
Under Myanmar’s complex political system, the NLD will also have to wait until March next year for the transfer of power.
Under the military-drafted constitution, the army chief will appoint three key ministers – for defence, border affairs and the interior, with control of security forces – as well as 25 per cent of MPs. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is very wise and will guarantee a smooth transition, operating from the background.
Meanwhile, Suu Kyi has promised to form a reconciliation government, but constitutional reform is reportedly at the top of her agenda. The clause was widely seen as being written specifically to prevent her from taking office.
An Australian news said “Suu Kyi hints at election win” for the opposition party, NLD.
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“This is the only constitution in the world where there is such a wide gap between an election and the forming of a new administration”, the NLD leader told reporters at a press conference on November 5.
