Aung San Suu Kyi's Opposition Party Takes Majority In Myanmar Parliament

[Red Dreams]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/myanmar-election_56457bece4b0603773488cf9

YANGON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party on Friday clinched enough seats in parliament to elect a president and form a government when incoming lawmakers convene next year.

Results from the country's election commission confirmed the thumping victory that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) had claimed after the first free nationwide election in 25 years on Sunday.

The confirmation came five years to the day since the junta released Suu Kyi from house arrest. She had been confined for the best part of two decades.

The triumph of the charismatic Nobel peace prize laureate sweeps out the old guard of former generals that has run Myanmar, also known as Burma, since President Thein Sein ushered in a raft of democratic and economic reforms four years ago.

Despite the landslide, Suu Kyi cannot become president herself under a constitution drafted by the military before the end of nearly 50 years of rule. She has said she will run the country anyway, through a proxy chosen by her party.

Results have trickled in since the weekend, and on Friday the election commission announced the latest batch of seats that pushed the NLD over the threshold to secure an absolute majority in parliament.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Military coup in 3...2....1..

 

[Neutral]

Bigger fraud than Obama.

Her Nobel prize - is she had an ounce of integrity, she would have returned it.

The ethnic cleansing going on in Myanmar with regards to the Rohingya is disgusting. The Rohingya have been there for over at least 150 years and yet, they are now being killed...pushed out and those who remain were denied the right to vote. But it's cool - they're muslims...so, we'll just let it slide.

She has not only turned a blind eye to it, but downplayed it, further encouraging the killings and forced expulsions.

 

[sun_tzu]

Military coup in 3...2....1..

Nah...

Next stop for Aung San Suu Kyi are talks with President Thein Sein and the army Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. They are likely to happen in Nay Pyi Taw next week.

There is plenty to discuss and Ms Suu Kyi is likely to try and reassure them that her government will be inclusive, and not purely made up from her NLD party.

Then there is the thorny issue of the upcoming "lame duck" parliamentary session. Incredibly, the members of the old pre-election Burmese parliament are due to gather next week for a final session that runs until the end of January.

It has full powers to pass legislation and with the vast majority of the MPs having been booted out on Sunday this could be an opportunity for all manner of consequence-free political skulduggery.

Only once the "lame duck" session ends will the new NLD-dominated parliament gather. It will immediately choose a new speaker, quite possibly Ms Suu Kyi, before selecting two vice-presidents and a president.

So no coup till Jan /Feb... or they may even declare a state of emergency between now and then that requires martial law...

 

[Neutral]

Nah - the military kept 25% of the seats from themselves and I think Myanmar will go through a period of 'managed' democracy. Compromises and back door deals - and maybe in 10/15 years, things stabilizing.

She knows not to push TOO hard and the Junta also know the old days are gone.