The political party of democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi - National League for Democracy (NLD) has won a majority in Myanmar's parliament. This was announced by the election commission of the country on Friday.
The NLD has managed to get enough seats to elect its chosen candidate to the presidency when the new legislature convenes next year.
Suu Kyi has been congratulated on her landmark victory United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama. Her party won the first free general elections in Myanmar since the last 25 years.
With the UN chief acknowledging Myanmar President Thein Sein’s "courage and vision" to organize an election in which the ruling camp was trounced, both Obama and Ban also praised the President for successfully staging the historic poll.
While reports and results have been trickling since the last weekend, announcement of wins on the the latest batch of seats that pushed the NLD over the threshold to secure an absolute majority in parliament was made on Friday.
This victory by the party f the Nobel peace Laureate would help to sweep out an old guard of former generals that has run Myanmar, also known as Burma. The army had taken over reigns of the country since Thein Sein ushered in a raft of democratic and economic reforms four years ago.
A broad participation by Myanmar's people and a commitment by its rulers to abide by the result were noted by White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes on Thursday while talking with reporters.
"This is in many ways a momentous opportunity for the people of Burma," Rhodes said. "We had been very focused on this election. It is a critical milestone in evaluating Burma's democratic transition," he said.
During his Asia trip slated for later this month, Rhodes said Obama would meet with the Myanmar president, along with other regional leaders.
In an effort to make Myanmar’s transition to democracy a foreign policy legacy of his presidency, Obama has visited Myanmar twice over the past three years.
A White House press release said that Obama "commended her for her tireless efforts and sacrifice over so many years to promote a more inclusive, peaceful and democratic Burma" during a call with Suu Kyi.
Powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing and Thein Sein said they would respect the result and hold reconciliation talks with Suu Kyi soon. Thein Sein has been running a semi-civilian government after the ruling junta stepped aside in 2011.
The worldwide unambiguous endorsements and applaud of Suu Kyi's victory is expected to smoothen the lengthy post-election transition ahead of the last session of the old parliament, which reconvenes on Monday.
Global leaders stressed that a large number of people - estimated by some rights activists at around 4 million - were unable to cast their ballots even as the election and two months of campaigning in the run-up were largely peaceful.
"He is regretfully aware that a large number of voters from minority communities, in particular the Rohingya, were denied the right to vote and some were disqualified as candidates," Ban Ki-moon's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement.
"There is much hard work that remains ahead on Myanmar's democratic journey and toward making future elections truly inclusive."
(Source:www.reuters.com)
The NLD has managed to get enough seats to elect its chosen candidate to the presidency when the new legislature convenes next year.
Suu Kyi has been congratulated on her landmark victory United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama. Her party won the first free general elections in Myanmar since the last 25 years.
With the UN chief acknowledging Myanmar President Thein Sein’s "courage and vision" to organize an election in which the ruling camp was trounced, both Obama and Ban also praised the President for successfully staging the historic poll.
While reports and results have been trickling since the last weekend, announcement of wins on the the latest batch of seats that pushed the NLD over the threshold to secure an absolute majority in parliament was made on Friday.
This victory by the party f the Nobel peace Laureate would help to sweep out an old guard of former generals that has run Myanmar, also known as Burma. The army had taken over reigns of the country since Thein Sein ushered in a raft of democratic and economic reforms four years ago.
A broad participation by Myanmar's people and a commitment by its rulers to abide by the result were noted by White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes on Thursday while talking with reporters.
"This is in many ways a momentous opportunity for the people of Burma," Rhodes said. "We had been very focused on this election. It is a critical milestone in evaluating Burma's democratic transition," he said.
During his Asia trip slated for later this month, Rhodes said Obama would meet with the Myanmar president, along with other regional leaders.
In an effort to make Myanmar’s transition to democracy a foreign policy legacy of his presidency, Obama has visited Myanmar twice over the past three years.
A White House press release said that Obama "commended her for her tireless efforts and sacrifice over so many years to promote a more inclusive, peaceful and democratic Burma" during a call with Suu Kyi.
Powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing and Thein Sein said they would respect the result and hold reconciliation talks with Suu Kyi soon. Thein Sein has been running a semi-civilian government after the ruling junta stepped aside in 2011.
The worldwide unambiguous endorsements and applaud of Suu Kyi's victory is expected to smoothen the lengthy post-election transition ahead of the last session of the old parliament, which reconvenes on Monday.
Global leaders stressed that a large number of people - estimated by some rights activists at around 4 million - were unable to cast their ballots even as the election and two months of campaigning in the run-up were largely peaceful.
"He is regretfully aware that a large number of voters from minority communities, in particular the Rohingya, were denied the right to vote and some were disqualified as candidates," Ban Ki-moon's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement.
"There is much hard work that remains ahead on Myanmar's democratic journey and toward making future elections truly inclusive."
(Source:www.reuters.com)
