Myanmar’s historic general election was held peacefully and smoothly on November 8, with 6,038 candidates competing more than 1,000 parliamentary seats.
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Obama also called Suu Kyi and her opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which has won about 80 percent of the seats declared so far in the lower house, to commend them for their success, which puts her on course to form the new cabinet.
Earlier this week, Myanmar’s military-backed president, Thein Sein, said he would respect the results and the country’s army chief, Min Aung Hlaing, offered that the military would “do what its best in cooperation with the new government during the post-election period”.
But confirmation of the win has been frustratingly slow for opposition supporters as the national election commission only releases results in batches with several hours gap between announcements.
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”.
“Congratulations … to the chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi and her party for gathering the support of the people”. Suu Kyi has spent 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest, after the military overturned an election in 1990, in which the NLD won a majority of the vote. The two talked about the importance of all parties respecting the election results once announced in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
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. Another provision bars Ms Suu Kyi from the presidency because her sons hold foreign citizenship.
The military will retain significant power, including direct control over the police and large parts of the bureaucracy. This means that the party has surpassed the 329-seat threshold needed to gain a 51 percent majority in parliament – ensuring the party will be unimpeded in choosing Myanmar’s next president in a parliamentary committee vote scheduled for February 2016.
Obama has staked vast political capital in Myanmar’s transition from authoritarian rule to an emergent democracy, backing the NLD’s polar force Suu Kyi and visiting the country twice in the last four years.
The constitution allows parliament to select the country’s president, giving the NLD, which under Suu Kyi has led the fight for democratic reforms, significant powers in a government that remains heavily controlled by the military. The victor becomes president, the runner-up is first vice president and the third placed becomes number two vice president.
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Tu Ja said Suu Kyi should be careful to ensure the voices of ethnic minorities are heard in the new government – and not just the views of Myanmar’s ethnic Bamar majority.
