Suu Kyi’s NLD wins two-thirds majority in Myanmar, to form government

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which has come in a distant second, has declared that it will respect the outcome of the elections.

“But I think the NLD will happily co-operate with them since one of their mandates is national reconciliation”, he said. And the military looks set to devise a formula that will effectively share power with the democratic opposition. In the 1990 general election, the NLD won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament.

Suu Kyi was under house arrest when she won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

Barack Obama has commended Aung San Suu Kyi for her tireless efforts and sacrifice to promote more democracy in her country.

That control will now be tested. With about 100 seats still to report, her majority in the upper house may be confirmed later today.

Dealing with the military: The NLD won a majority of contested parliamentary seats, but not all parliamentary seats were up for grabs.

The National League for Democracy has so far won 364 seats in Myanmar’s parliament after the November 8 election, according to the country’s election commission.

Nyan Win said the NLD would use the meeting to get a better sense of “how to build a new government”, adding that the party also plans to tap “intellectuals” to lead its ministries and will begin to hammer out “laws to develop the country” after forming its administration. In fact, thanks to the constitution, 25 percent of seats are reserved for unelected military representatives who hold veto power over constitutional amendments and have no interest in allowing Suu Kyi to become president. He also retains the right to take control of the government in emergencies.

For many, the most glaring offense is the clause that bars anyone with foreign family members from being president.

Suu Kyi’s late husband was British.

The election commission has slowly been releasing figures, and by early on Friday morning the NLD needed only two more votes to reach the threshold required to give it a majority in both houses of parliament.

Suu Kyi, 70, has not spoken to the party faithful since Monday.

Their conciliatory messages appeared to end lingering fears that the military might overturn the result, as it did when the NLD won a previous election by a landslide in 1990. Last week, she told reporters that she would lead the government in a position “above the president”. For millions of Myanmar voters who flocked to the polls on Sunday she would be a natural choice for President.

Burma is often called Myanmar, a name that ruling military authorities adopted in 1989.

That journey is not yet complete. The issue has ramifications for Myanmar’s worldwide relations as well, as the current government has been accused of inaction and even complicity in what a few call genocide of the Rohingya.