APPHOTO MYN105: Supporters of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party cheer as they watch the results of the general election on an LED screen displayed outside the party’s headquarters Monday, November 9 2015 in Yangon, Myanmar.
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“We lost”, USDP’s acting chairman Htay Oo told Reuters.
Election authorities have so far released only a small fraction of the results, but of the 36 announced the National League for Democracy has scooped 35, in a psychological boost to crowds of Suu Kyi supporters gathered in front of her party headquarters in Yangon today evening.
The country’s election commission announced the results of Sunday’s election as they trickled in, constituency by constituency.
Although official results may not be complete for days, analysts said it seemed that the NLD could win a majority in Parliament, which would allow it to choose a president and pass laws without any need for support by the military or its political wing, the USDP.
Earlier on Monday, Ms Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-democracy icon, urged supporters not to provoke losing rivals who mostly represent the former junta.
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the massive turnout, which could see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party catapulted to power, was a “testament to the courage and sacrifice shown by the people of Burma over many decades”.
But it also portends an uncertain transition for Myanmar and a dilemma for the military-backed government that until now has tried to manage the transition away from isolation and dictatorship on its own terms.
The US State Department’s top Asia diplomat cautioned against declaring a landslide when so few votes had been counted from Sunday’s poll, but said preliminary indications were that the elections went “quite smoothly”. The results are not yet official but we accept any outcome. The country’s constitution contains a provision barring her from serving as president, but prior to the election she said that if her party wins, she will lead from behind the scenes. Suu Kyi, who is still barred from the presidency under the army-drafted constitution, remained cautious, but hinted at victory.
Her two sons are British, as was her late husband.
A decisive win could ensure that Suu Kyi’s party is able to form the next government.
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However, concerns around the fairness of the elections have been raised, with hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar denied the right to vote, including the oppressed Rohingya Muslim minority.
