Democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi declared a “new era” for Burma Monday, after she and fellow members of her party won a landslide victory in Sunday's parliamentary by-elections.
Burmese state media say partial election results show that the opposition National League for Democracy has so far won at least 40 of the 44 seats it contested. The results of the remaining seats were not announced. The NLD said earlier that it won at least 43 seats.
Aung San Suu Kyi told a crowd of supporters outside NLD headquarters in Rangoon Monday that she hoped the election results will force government to heed the will of ordinary citizens.
“We hope that this is the beginning of the new era, where there will be more emphasis on the role of the people in the everyday politics of the country.”
She appealed to other political parties to help bring democracy and better living conditions to the impoverished country.
“We also hope that we will be able to go further along the road towards national reconciliation. We will welcome all parties who wish to join us in the process of bringing peace and prosperity to our country.''
The Union Solidarity and Development Party, which was formed by the ruling military before it ceded power in a general election last year, will continue to have an overwhelming majority in parliament.
However, international diplomats who monitored the elections expressed favorable comments Monday.
Observers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued a statement saying the election was conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner. And David Lipman, head of a European Union delegation, expressed satisfaction at the changes taking place in Burma, also known as Myanmar.
“We want to try and continue to support and encourage the tremendous momentum for change in Myanmar and that's what the European Union wants to do and that's why we were here yesterday.”
The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 general elections, but military leaders at the time refused to relinquish power and the victors were refused entry into parliament. Aung San Suu Kyi was held under some form of confinement by the military government for most the the past 22 years.
In a statement Monday, the White House said the election is an important step in Burma's democratic transformation and that it hopes it is an indication that the Burmese government intends to continue along the path of greater openness, transparency and reform.
U.S. and European Union authorities have hinted that they would consider lifting some economic sanctions imposed on the former military government, if Sunday's polls are determined to be free and fair. Those sanctions were levied during the past two decades in response to widespread human right abuses under military rule.
