The overwhelming victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Myanmar’s November 2015 parliamentary elections has fundamentally altered the political landscape. The NLD captured large seat majorities in both houses of the National Parliament and in all but two of the state and regional assemblies.
With such a landslide victory, there have been concerns about whether the military (which has a historical penchant for intervening to ensure their rule) would accept the results. But the leadership of the ruling Union and Solidarity Development Party (USDP), President Thein Sein, and the Commander in Chief of the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) Senior General Min Aung Hlaing have all congratulated NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her victory. They publicly offered their support to enact a smooth transition of power. The former junta leader Than Shwe has also apparently offered support to the new government.
Yet these conciliatory gestures are based on the political realities of the current system. The NLD, despite their definitive electoral victory, does not have a free hand to govern. (Courtesy of East Asia Forum)
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