Myanmar’s Opposition Wins Right to Form New Government Independently

Michael Buehler, a lecturer in Southeast Asian politics at the University of London, speculates that there is a bit of bluster in Suu Kyi’s statements, bearing in mind that the military remains the ultimate power broker in the country.

The US President Barack Obama has called his Myanmarese counterpart Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to congratulate them on the successful elections in the country. There is little debate over key decisions, little delegation to those below her and, by all appearances, no attempt to bring on the next generation of leaders in the party – remember Suu Kyi is already 70. The army Wednesday offered its “congratulations” and said it was prepared for “national reconciliation talks”.

Suu Kyi’s party was on the verge of victory Thursday with results from Sunday’s parliamentary elections still coming in.

It staked its claim even though the government’s Union Election Commission had announced results for only 88 lower-house seats by Tuesday afternoon, with 78 going to the NLD and five to the ruling party. The ruling junta annulled the results and put Suu Kyi under house arrest.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spearheaded the prodemocracy movement in Myanmar, is likely to win more than two-thirds of the seats up for election and not reserved for military representatives.

Under the constitution Ms Suu Kyi can not become president herself. The confirmation of her election triumph Friday, coincides with the fifth anniversary of her final release by the authorities.

The charter, drafted in 2008 under the military junta that ruled Myanmar at the time, sets aside a quarter of parliamentary seats for unelected military officials and requires more than three-fourths of the legislature to approve any amendments.

Ms Suu Kyi’s message came amid lingering fears the military might overturn the vote, as it did when the NLD won a previous landslide victory in 1990.

The Obama administration may view the NLD’s victory as a win for the so-called U.S. “pivot” to Asia-meaning a democratizing Burma could help counterbalance China’s influence in the region.

“It is a big blow for ethnic parties as they lost the majority of seats in national parliament, so we are concerned that the new parliament may not reflect the voices of ethnic people”, said Tu Ja, who lost his own state parliament seat in Myitkyina.

Hailing a “remarkable result” for the opposition, independent Myanmar analyst Richard Horsey said it “exceeds what anyone was expecting before this election” and repeats the landslide of 1990.

Winning a total of 348 seats so far in the two houses of the union parliament, the NLD also swept most of the seats in the Region or State Parliaments – dominating not only major cities like Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and Mandalay, but also areas inhabited by ethnic groups, Xinhua news agency reported.

In early February the lower house and upper house vote to select one candidate each for president, while the military bloc also names a candidate.