Suu Kyi hopes for new era in Myanmar
Source: Agencies |
April 3, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Aung San Suu Kyi claimed victory yesterday in Myanmar's historic by-election, saying she hoped it would mark the start of a new era for the country.
Suu Kyi spoke to thousands of cheering supporters who gathered outside her opposition party headquarters a day after her party declared she had won a parliamentary seat in the closely watched vote.
The Election Commission has not yet confirmed the results, but government officials have commented on Suu Kyi's victory and the people of Myanmar have reacted with jubilation.
"The success we are having is the success of the people," Suu Kyi said, as a sea of supporters chanted her name and thrust their hands into the air to flash "V" for victory signs.
"It is not so much our triumph as a triumph of the people who have decided that they have to be involved in the political process in this country," she said. "We hope this will be the beginning of a new era."
If confirmed, Suu Kyi will take public office for the first time and lead a small bloc of lawmakers from her opposition National League for Democracy in Myanmar's military-dominated Parliament.
Nay Zin Latt, an adviser to President Thein Sein, said he was "not really surprised that the NLD had won a majority of seats" in the by-election. Asked if Suu Kyi might be given a Cabinet post, he said: "Everything is possible. She could be given any position of responsibility because of her capacity."
Unofficial counts continued to trickle in yesterday from poll watchers within Suu Kyi's party, and spokesman Han Than said the opposition had won at least 43 of the 44 parliament seats it had contested. Those included all four seats up for grabs in the capital, Naypyitaw, which is populated by civil servants and would be an embarrassing sign of defeat for the government.
A commission official said its regional office for Yangon had confirmed that Suu Kyi's party had won all six constituencies contested in Yangon and that full results from remote areas were expected by midweek. The former junta had kept Suu Kyi imprisoned in her lakeside home for the better part of two decades. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a general election, few could have imagined she would so quickly make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official - opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.
Hoping to convince the global community of its progress, Myanmar invited Western and Asian election observers to monitor the vote and issued visas to foreign journalists.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
