Burmese hopeful about landmark national elections
This country, repressive and isolated five years ago, will hold its first contested national elections in 25 years Sunday. Even before the votes are cast, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said Thursday she will lead the country in a role “above the president” if her party wins.
Sunday’s vote is to fill 498 seats in Burma’s parliament. The main battle is between the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is backed by the military, and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) headed by democracy icon Suu Kyi.
The Union Solidarity party came to power in the 2010 elections, which marked the end of decades of military rule and the installment of a nominally civilian government. The NLD and other opposition parties boycotted those elections, claiming they were rigged to keep the military in power.
The country’s previous nation- al election was in 1990, which Suu Kyi and the NLD won by a landslide, only to have the military junta immediately nullify the result. In a 2012 by-election, the NLD won 43 out of 44 seats, and Suu Kyi was elected to parliament.
The NLD is likely to have a strong showing Sunday, but Suu Kyi is barred from becoming president because of a constitutional clause that excludes anyone with close foreign relatives from holding the office. Suu Kyi was married to a British national and has two British sons.
Nevertheless, Suu Kyi said she intends to lead Burma, also known as Myanmar, whether she is president or not.
“If the NLD wins and is able to form a government, I will be above the president,” she said at a news conference. “The constitution says nothing about someone being above the president.” She said another member of her party would hold the title of president, but “I will make all the proper and important decisions with regard to the government.”
Suu Kyi, 70, is a beloved figure in this country and often called The Lady, or Daw Suu. She spent more than 15 years under house arrest for promoting democracy and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
“Daw Suu is like our god,” said U Tin Win, 74, a retired sailor in Rangoon. He said he has been teaching his neighbors how to fill out their ballots to make sure their votes are counted. “If the election is fair, Daw Suu is going to win and form a new government and a new chapter in Burma’s history,” he said.
Suu Kyi is not without critics, particularly among human rights advocates and minority groups such as the Rohingya. The Rohingya, the persecuted Muslim minority that sparked a migrant crisis in Southeast Asia in May as thousands fled miserable conditions at home, have been practically excluded from the upcoming election. Not a single Rohingya candidate was allowed to run.