Aung San Suu Kyi’s Party Wins Myanmar Vote, Poll Body Says

(Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s ruling party led by Aung San Suu Kyi has won enough parliamentary seats to retain power in the nation’s second election since the end of military rule a decade ago, officials results showed.

The National League for Democracy has won 346 seats to the national assembly so far, more than the 322 needed to form a government, the Union Election Commission said on Friday. The ruling party has also won 442 seats in elections held to state and regional parliaments, the commission said.

While Suu Kyi’s party has said it’s on course to win about 400 parliamentary seats, the military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party has sought a fresh vote, alleging widespread irregularities in the general elections held on Nov. 8.

A second five-year term will allow Suu Kyi’s party to fulfill their pledges to revive the economy and ensure internal peace. The challenges awaiting Suu Kyi include a rampant coronavirus outbreak and the need to raise the living standards for about a third of the population who remain in poverty.

The ruling party sent a letter to 48 ethnic parties on Thursday that it would prioritize ethnic affairs, seeking their cooperation in the establishment of a democratic federal union. Myanmar used to appoint an ethnic person as a vice president in the previous government terms. The Suu Kyi-led National Reconciliation and Peace Center and the military respectively urged stakeholders’ cooperation for immediate holding of elections in areas where they have been postponed.

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