This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/world/asia/myanmar-election-results-aung-san-suu-kyi.html

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
Myanmar Election Has Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party Confident of Landslide Myanmar Election Has Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party Confident of Landslide
(about 7 hours later)
YANGON, Myanmar — The opposition party of the Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday that it was confident of a sweeping victory in the country’s landmark nationwide elections, while the ruling military-backed party acknowledged its poor showing. YANGON, Myanmar — After struggling against the Burmese military for two and a half decades, the opposition party of the Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said Monday that it was confident of a sweeping victory in the country’s landmark nationwide elections.
“Nationwide, we got over 70 percent,” said U Win Htein, a senior member of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, cautioning that the results were not yet official. But, he added, “We can call this a landslide victory.” Although official results of Sunday’s election trickled in for only a handful of districts, the potential electoral success by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s political movement underlined the undying appeal of a woman who sacrificed her family, her health and 15 years of her life as a political prisoner to oppose dictatorship in Myanmar.
The first official results released on Monday afternoon showed the opposition nearly sweeping seats in Yangon, the country’s largest city. Even a torrential downpour could not bring down the spirits of a crowd of opposition supporters, who cheered and sang as they watched the results on a giant TV screen outside the party’s headquarters here. But it also portends a troubled and 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.
Across the country, a number of powerful members of the military establishment in Myanmar conceded defeat, including former senior military officers who were among the most prominent members of the ruling party. “Nationwide, we got over 70 percent,” said U Win Htein, a senior member of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. He cautioned that the results were not yet official, but added, “We can call this a landslide victory.”
“You should never underestimate the people’s desire,” said U Khin Maung Yi, a member of the opposition who defeated a powerful incumbent, U Htay Oo, the chairman of the ruling party, for his seat in the Irrawaddy Delta. “It is clear that people voted for us because they believe we can bring hope and change for them.” If the results of Sunday’s election are respected by the current government and the military, it will be the first time in more than five decades that voters in Myanmar have been able to choose their leaders freely.
Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament and a former general, also lost his seat. Landslide was the term used to describe the outcome the last time Myanmar had a free election, a quarter of a century ago, when Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi led democratic forces to a victory over the military’s proxies, winning 80 percent of the seats in Parliament.
“Nationwide, we won in some parts, and we lost in some parts,” Mr. Htay Oo, the ruling party leader, was quoted as saying in the Burmese news media on Monday. “But we had a greater share of losses.” The military’s answer then was to cancel the elections, lock up its opponents, including Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, and impose a sort of isolated dark age for the country just as its neighbors were riding the Asian economic miracle to greater prosperity.
If the results of Sunday’s election are respected by the current government and the military, it will be the first time in more than five decades that voters in Myanmar were able to choose their leaders freely. This time seems different, although how different remains to be seen. Unlike in 1990, Myanmar, the former British colony once known as Burma, is increasingly engaged with the world, including with the United States, which has invested considerable political capital and closely watched the unfolding transition toward democracy.
The election was primarily a contest between the military elites and the democracy movement that the former generals persecuted for more than two decades. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest for 15 years while the military was in control, emerging as a national democracy hero. The election has unleashed a flurry of emotion among her supporters, many of whom were jailed during military rule. Voting was largely peaceful. The American Embassy had teams of observers in every state and region of the country on Sunday. In a carefully worded congratulatory statement, Secretary of State John Kerry warned that “a peaceful post-election period is crucial for stability” and for the political transition.
Although official results may not be complete for days, analysts said the election appeared so one-sided that it seemed that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party 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 Union Solidarity and Development Party. While such warnings may not have been far from the surface, the mood across Yangon and other parts of the country was electric. Even a torrential downpour on Monday afternoon could not bring down the spirits of a crowd of opposition supporters who cheered and sang as they watched the results on a giant TV screen outside the party’s headquarters here.
Under the current, military-drawn Constitution, a quarter of the seats in Parliament are appointed by the military, so her party would have to win two-thirds of the contested seats to have a majority. “I haven’t been able to eat anything since yesterday because I’m so happy,” said one supporter, Daw Than Than Htay. “This is going to change everything in our country.”
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was cautious in her comments to reporters on Monday, but she seemed to hint at big gains in the election, saying voters had “already understood” the result. Official results were fragmentary but what news there was was not good for the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party.
By the end of the day Monday, the election commission had announced the votes for only 54 of the 644 seats in Parliament. The opposition National League for Democracy won 49 of them.
And a number of powerful members of the military establishment conceded defeat, including former senior military officers who were among the most prominent figures in the quasi-civilian government that has ruled since 2011.
Thura Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of Parliament and a former general, lost his seat as did a host of high-profile ministers, almost all of them former generals.
“Nationwide, we won in some parts, and we lost in some parts,” U Htay Oo, the chairman of the ruling party, was quoted as saying in the Burmese news media on Monday. “But we had a greater share of losses.”
He, too, lost his seat.
“You should never underestimate the people’s desire,” said U Khin Maung Yi, the man who defeated Mr. Htay Oo. “It is clear that people voted for us because they believe we can bring hope and change for them.”
While that may be, many voters said they cast their lot with the opposition because of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. The daughter of the country’s independence hero, Aung San, she is often referred to affectionately in rural precincts as “Mother Suu” or simply the Lady.
“Of course, we love Mother Suu,” said Daw Kyi Kyi Htay, a 39-year-old rice farmer from an impoverished farming village in the Irrawaddy Delta. “I can’t give you a reason. I just love her.”
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s persistent appeal seems to have somehow outlasted the efforts to keep her down and out of power.
The deck was stacked against her. The military-drawn Constitution included enough guarantees of military power and specific bars against her that a clear victory seemed all but out of the question.
The Constitution prohibits her from becoming president and retains crucial ministries for the military. Moreover, the military reserves the right to appoint a quarter of the seats in Parliament, meaning that for the opposition to control a simple majority it will have to win more than two-thirds of the open seats, a proposition few considered likely.
If her party’s claimed percentages hold up, she may have beaten the generals at their own game.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was cautious in her comments to reporters on Monday, but she hinted at big gains, saying voters had “already understood” the result.
“The loser must face the loss bravely and calmly, and the winner must be humble and very magnanimous,” she said.“The loser must face the loss bravely and calmly, and the winner must be humble and very magnanimous,” she said.
The picture was less clear in ethnic minority areas, which may be important in the selection of a new president early next year if Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, falls short of a parliamentary majority. The party said it had filed complaints about irregularities from those areas, where results are expected in the coming days. Such caution has characterized her policies as a politician, an opposition member of Parliament, for the last five years, tarnishing her image as a democratic idealist.
Party officials said their preliminary results showed that they had swept most seats in the delta, which is heavily populated and politically important. In the West, human rights campaigners denounced her lack of action and support for Myanmar’s disenfranchised and persecuted Muslim minority, the Rohingya. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya voters were struck from voter rolls this year and not allowed to vote on Sunday.
Voters in the delta displayed a reflexive affection for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the daughter of the country’s independence hero. But in a country with strong anti-Muslim sentiments, deflecting that issue — her critics would say ignoring it altogether — may have allowed her to maintain her popularity.
“Of course we love Mother Suu,” said Daw Kyi Kyi Htay, a 39-year-old rice farmer who lives in an impoverished rice farming village. “I can’t give you a reason. I just love her.” Indeed, addressing the plight of the Rohingya and managing Myanmar’s other fractious minorities will remain critical issues for whoever runs the new government.
There were signs that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s popularity had also carried over into ethnic areas, such as the upland states of Kachin and Chin, where local loyalties have often trumped national ones. A major unknown looming over the question of whether Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, could win a parliamentary mandate in this election was whether ethnic minorities, who often vote for their own parties, would vote for her.
There were signs on Monday that she had made inroads into ethnic regions, the vast borderland areas that have historically enjoyed autonomy and where local loyalties have often trumped national ones.
Cherry Zahau, a candidate from the Chin Progressive Party, an ethnic-based opposition party in Chin State, along the border with India, conceded defeat on Monday to a candidate from Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.Cherry Zahau, a candidate from the Chin Progressive Party, an ethnic-based opposition party in Chin State, along the border with India, conceded defeat on Monday to a candidate from Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party.
“It is unbelievable,” she said. “Chin voters don’t even know who they voted for. They only know the Lady.”“It is unbelievable,” she said. “Chin voters don’t even know who they voted for. They only know the Lady.”
One of the victors in the election, U Than Nyunt, said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s star power was a major factor in his win over Mr. Shwe Mann. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was treasured as a symbol of defiance against the generals and the poverty that has plagued Myanmar even as its neighbors have become more wealthy. One of the victors in the election, U Than Nyunt, said Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s star power was a major factor in his win over Mr. Shwe Mann, the speaker of Parliament. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was treasured as a symbol of defiance against the generals and the poverty that has plagued Myanmar even as its neighbors have become more wealthy.
“The people’s message to us is that they want change and they don’t want to live in these circumstances anymore,” Mr. Than Nyunt said.“The people’s message to us is that they want change and they don’t want to live in these circumstances anymore,” Mr. Than Nyunt said.
In a country fractured by ethnic divisions and riddled with corruption, drug trafficking and destitution, expectations for the next government are perhaps implausibly high. But this has not stopped outpourings of joy. In a country fractured by ethnic divisions and riddled with corruption, drug trafficking and destitution, expectations for the next government are perhaps implausibly high.
“I haven’t been able to eat anything since yesterday because I’m so happy,” said Daw Than Than Htay, a supporter of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party. “This is going to change everything in our country.” But this has not stopped dreamy outpourings of joy.
Although jubilation was widespread, it was not ubiquitous. Hundreds of thousands of voters from the Rohingya Muslim minority were struck from voter rolls and not allowed to vote on Sunday. The plight of the Rohingya, who are not recognized as citizens, is one of the many thorny issues awaiting the next government. One of her supporters, Daw Nyo, 89, beamed as she described her affection for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.
“She is like a daughter to me,” she said. “I want to see her to save this country.”