Aung San Suu Kyi's party heading for a landslide victory in Myanmar elections

Yangon: – The ‘National League for Democracy’ (NLD) party of Aung San Suu Kyi, is headed towards a thumping majority in the Myanmar elections. Although the election results have not been officially declared till now, the party is leading in the counting. NLD has claimed that it will win many more seats than the required majority. These are the second elections in Myanmar, since the end of 50-year military rule. Suu Kyi faced criticism, on the global level, over the action taken against the Rohingyas. Against this background, these results become important.

On Sunday, voting for parliamentary elections was held in Myanmar. More than 90 political parties were in the fray. The Myanmar population responded enthusiastically even during the current Coronavirus crisis. Counting for 642 seats has started and NLD has expressed confidence that the party will win more than 377 seats. The results have not been declared till now. The picture will become apparent in a short while. But the NLD has already started victory celebrations. Its supporters have already started rejoicing since Sunday night.

The Myanmar elections have been held against the background of the Coronavirus crisis and ethnic clashes. The NLD spokesperson thanked the Myanmar population, saying that they voted, keeping faith in NLD, even during the crisis. Suu Kyi’s party had won the 2015 elections. The party that has been given an extension of five years in power is faced with the challenges of the economy and internal stability. The NLD spokesman said that giving an impetus to the economy, which has been rocked by the Coronavirus crisis, will be the priority for the government.

Meanwhile, analysts have said that the Rohingya issue will continue to pose a challenge for the Myanmar government. The human rights organisations had criticised the Myanmar government for depriving the Rohingya population of the voting rights. The voting was cancelled in the areas dominated by the Rohingya rebels, citing security concerns. Therefore, more than a million citizens could not exercise their voting rights. The United Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), backed by the military, is posing a challenge to the NLD at some places and it is becoming clear that this party will emerge as the second-largest party in the parliament. Even in the 2015 elections, USDP had secured the second-highest number of seats.