Burmese government vows ‘peaceful transfer’ of power

Aung San Suu Kyi called for “national reconciliation” talks with Myanmar’s president and the nation’s powerful army chief on Wednesday as her pro-democracy party stood poised for a landslide election victory.

The Union Election Commission yesterday announced 63 more results for Parliament’s lower house, which included Ms Suu Kyi’s name as the victor from Kawhmu, which is part of Yangon state.

Of the 394 representatives, 149 are elected to the Lower House, 33 to the House of Nationalities (Upper House) and 212 to the Region or State Parliament.

Three days after polls closed, the election commission has released results of about half the 498 seats in parliament being contested. Suu Kyi was also criticized by a few for not speaking up for the Muslims as her party did not field any Muslim candidate in the elections, like other parties.

The Nobel Laureate’s supporters credit her with bringing new concrete roads, schools and clinics to the rural area where most people make their living from farming.

The military-drafted constitution prohibits Suu Kyi from serving as president, but she has rankled the ruling party, which is the political arm of the military, by saying she would serve above the president.

All the votes haven’t been counted yet, but it looks like Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party is going to win the country’s historic elections.

It may come close to enough seats in parliament to rule outright, without a coalition, even though the generals stacked the deck with a constitution that reserves one-quarter of parliament’s seats for them.

“The government will respect and follow the people’s choice and decision, and work on transferring power peacefully according to the timetable”, the statement continued.

Myanmar’s transition to greater democracy after decades of military rule surged ahead as the government promised a peaceful transition of power.

She said the military’s iron hold on power for about 50 years led to the deaths of many people, including students who advocated for democracy. Aung Hlaing publicly bowing to the results may reassure the NLD, who fear a repeat of Myanmar’s first modern election in 1990, when the NLD also won a sweeping victory only to see the ruling generals refuse to accept the outcome. Analysts say the key to a functioning government will be cooperation between Suu Kyi and the military. For the NLD to have the winning majority and be able to select the president, it will need at least two-thirds of all seats. Still, she recently has declared that she will be the country’s de facto leader, acting “above the president”, if her party forms the next government.