Hundreds of thousands of people voted on Sunday in Myanmar's first openly contested national election after decades of military rule, where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party is expected to win most parliamentary seats. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy needs 67 percent of all contested parliamentary seats to gain a majority. File photo by UPI/UN/Violaine Martin |
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NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Millions of people voted on Sunday in Myanmar's first openly contested national election in 25 years after decades of military rule, where Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party is expected to win most parliamentary seats.
There are about 30 million eligible voters in Myanmar's election out of an overall population of nearly 54 million. Many lined up to cast votes before poll stations opened at 6 a.m. and demand was so high that some polls were extended past the 4 p.m. deadline.
Voter turnout is expected at 80 percent. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy needs 67 percent of all contested parliamentary seats to gain a majority.
There are more than 6,000 candidates representing 90 different parties for the 664-seat parliament. The Union Solidarity Development Party, backed by the military junta, has been in power since 2011.
A quarter of parliamentary seats are reserved for unelected military representatives, who are expected to side with the USDP.
Suu Kyi, 70, whose children are British, is banned from Myanmar's presidency as the constitution prohibits anyone with foreign offspring from the post.
In a press conference on Thursday, Suu Kyi if her party wins the majority of seats in parliament, she will govern the country anyway.
"I'm going to be above the president," Suu Kyi said. "I have already made plans."
First official poll results are expected to be released at 9 a.m. local time Monday. At least 100,000 people were denied voting rights, including minority Rohingya Muslims, leading to questions over the fairness of the election.
Myanmar has been ruled by a military junta for nearly half a century. Security was stepped up ahead of the elections, with about 40,000 police guarding polling stations.
"We've said it is difficult to see how this can be a truly free and fair election given the disenfranchisement of the Rohingya population, the 25 percent of parliament guaranteed to the military and other structural problems," Tom Malinowski, assistant U.S. secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, told The Washington Post. "But there can still be a result that credibly reflects the overall desires of a majority of the Burmese people."
