Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party attained a historic majority in Myanmar’s Parliament on 13th November. This development made it possible for her party to form Myanmar’s first truly civilian government in more than half a century.
While complete results of the elections are not tallied, the state election commission announced that Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party had won 37 additional seats - pushing it over the threshold of 329 seats needed for a majority in the two-house Parliament.
The party with a combined parliamentary majority is able to select the next president, who can then name a Cabinet and form a new government. The 329 figure represents a majority in the 664-member parliament because voting was not held in seven constituencies due to unrest.
The ruling military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has won just 40 seats so far. The handover should take place after the new Parliament meets early next year and votes on a new president, along with two vice-presidents.
Second Chance for NLD
NLD’s victory is a second chance for the party, which also won a landslide victory in the first election it contested, in 1990, only to see the results annulled by the military, and many of its leading members harassed and jailed.
Challenges before NLD
- The huge tide of expectations evidenced by he vote.
- Its lack of experience in public administration.
- Dealing with the fractious ethnic minorities, who have been conducting insurgencies seeking greater autonomy.