Wikipedia Article on the 2015 Election
NPR Article:
Aung San Suu Kyi's Party Takes Control Of Myanmar's Parliament
For the first time in decades, a freely elected parliament took its seats in Myanmar on Monday, with the party of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi preparing to run the country. The change comes after years of strife — and a weekend of celebration.
That celebration included both incoming and outgoing officials, who sang and danced onstage at a huge party — an uplifting end to an era of military junta rule that had forced Suu Kyi into years of living under house arrest.
NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports:
"Lawmakers from Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, were sworn in the cavernous parliament building in the capital, Naypitaw.
"Myanmar's military-drafted constitution bars Suu Kyi from being president, so she has said she'll select a proxy from her party for the job. Suu Kyi has not revealed who she'll choose, but that person will take office after the current president stands down next month."
The constitution includes a clause stating that anyone whose children are foreign citizens is barred from being president; Suu Kyi's children were born in Britain and hold British passports.
Myanmar's military still controls a quarter of the seats in parliament — another provision in the constitution. But Suu Kyi's party won 80 percent of the seats up for grabs in November's historic election.
Myanmar's opposition party has won before, but that was in 1990, when the country's military refused to relinquish power, a decision that brought broad criticisms and economic sanctions.
So far, the transition of power has been smooth.
With his five-year term set to elapse next month, President U Thein Sein called on members of the existing government to work with the incoming lawmakers to smooth the transition. And he said that his goal has been to restore peace and tranquility before last year's democratic vote.
"We have never thought of which party will win the 2015 election," he said. [The country's prosperity] is, in fact, a broader and higher objective, regardless of having hope for a second term for me or for my party. This is a national objective, much nobler than individual or group interest. This objective is important to strengthen democracy in Myanmar."
Clarification
Feb. 1, 2016
Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won about 80 percent of the contested seats in parliament during the November elections. The military controls a quarter of the 664 seats.
While not exactly recent news (seeing as the elections were held this past November), I felt there ought to be a thread dedicated to this particular topic, as I have not yet seen one posted.
I personally think that while this election's results are promising and no foul play has occurred as of yet, things could still go south for the new government. I hope that the military decides to let democracy play out at this point, but one can never be too sure whether or not they'll be willing to relinquish that much power. Regardless, this election is no doubt a step in the right direction for lasting democracy in Myanmar.
So, NSG! What are your thoughts on this election? Do you think NLD is capable of bringing meaningful, democratic reform to Myanmar? Do you think the military hegemony will even permit such reform to take place (or for that matter, continue to recognise the results of the election)? The forum is open: Discuss!! Thus concluding my first attempted thread on NSG *whew*
Whenever I open some western media they all scream Putin is a dictator.