Suu Kyi party takes at least 7 of 12 seats in by-polls

International Desk: Myanmar's ruling National League for Democracy party won at least seven of the 12 elections on Saturday for seats in parliament, and the military-backed party at least one, Myanmar's election commission said on Sunday in releasing the first official results.

The commission is still working to verify the results for the other five seats. The by-elections were the first held since the government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi took power in 2016.

The by-elections were held to fill nine vacancies in the 440-seat lower house, and three vacancies in the 224-seat upper house of parliament.

Suu Kyi's NLD won nearly 80% of the available elected seats in the 2015 general elections, and secured an outright majority of 390 of the 664 seats in parliament, allowing the party to form the first genuine civilian government in Myanmar after more than 50 years of military rule.

In the by-elections, the NLD has so far won five lower-house seats and one upper house seat in the Yangon region, the country's commercial hub, and one lower-house seat in Sagaing in central Myanmar, according to election commission chairman Hla Thein.

The seats won by the NLD include the one previously held by Suu Kyi, who vacated it to take the newly created post of state counsellor and became the de-facto leader of the NLD-led government. Suu Kyi was constitutionally barred from becoming president as her late husband and children are foreign citizens.

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, the former ruling party, won a lower house seat in ethnic minority Mon State, Thein said.

Beyond seats it wins in contested elections, a quarter of the seats in parliament are constitutionally reserved for the military.

Nine of the 12 seats being contested Saturday were held by NLD members, who vacated the seats to join the cabinet, as required by law.

The election commission said the results will be updated throughout Sunday.

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Apr 2, 2017/Nasim