Myanmar election: Aung San Suu Kyi wins parliamentary seat for ruling National League for Democracy

Image courtesy: Reuters

Yangon: In the recently-held general elections, Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of Myanmar`s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), has won a seat in the House of Representatives (Lower House). Suu Kyi competed in Yangon`s Kawmhu constituency against rival candidates from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the Union Betterment Party, United Nationalities League for Democracy, Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, and one independent runner, according to Xinhua news agency.

Suu Kyi, the 75-year-old Nobel laureate, had earlier contested a seat in the Lower House in Kawmhu township in the 2012 by-election and 2015 general elections.

A total of 5,639 candidates including 1,106 candidates from the ruling NLD party and 1,089 from the USDP vied for the 1,117 parliamentary seats in Sunday`s election. The USDP reportedly won three seats -- one in the Lower House and two in the regional or state parliaments so far.

On Tuesday morning, 47 representatives have been elected to Parliament at three levels and the NLD secured 44 parliamentary seats including 12 in the Lower House, eight in the House of Nationalities (Upper House), and 24 in the regional or state parliaments so far, according to the UEC`s result announcement.

Notably, the ruling NLD party won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in the last general elections on November 8, 2015, and has been running the government since 2016. The 2020 general elections are the third election under the country`s 2008 Constitution.

An NLD spokesperson, Monywa Aung Shin, said the party had confirmed it won more than 322 seats "a majority" but the final outcome "would be likely more than" the party's goal of 377 seats.

The United States and other observers have expressed concern about how the election was conducted, especially the disenfranchisement of the Rohingya minority.

No reliable official figures were available on voter turnout, said an AP report, adding that over 90 parties contested the election and 37 million people were eligible to cast ballots, including 5 million first-time voters. 

(With Agency Inputs)