Setback for Suu Kyi in Myanmar by-elections
Myanmar’s ruling party led by the country’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi lost a constituency it previously held to the military-backed opposition party in by-elections held on November 3, preliminary results showed.
Some officials of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) are taking the by-election result as a warning against complacency ahead of the next general election in 2020.
The by-elections were held to fill five seats in the national parliament – four in the lower house and one in the upper house.
The NLD’s candidate for the upper house seat in Kachin State, an ethnic minority area bordering China, was defeated by his rival from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the former ruling party.
As for the four lower-house seats, the NLD won three of them and an ethnic minority party in Shan State the other. Both parties had previously held the seats.
Simultaneously, by-elections were held for eight seats in state and regional assemblies. The NLD lost three out of seven it previously held to the USDP and an ethnic minority party, according to the results.
The country’s election commission so has yet to release official results.
The by-elections are seen as an indicator of whether the NLD can again achieve a landslide victory in the next general election in 2020.
Although Suu Kyi is still widely popular throughout the country, there is widespread discontent at the slow pace of reforms in Myanmar since the NLD came to power in 2015.
Myanmar's ruling party led by the country's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi lost a constituency it previously held to the military-backed opposition party in by-elections held on November 3, preliminary results showed. Some officials of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) are taking the by-election result as a warning against complacency ahead of the next general election in 2020. The by-elections were held to fill five seats in the national parliament - four in the lower house and one in the upper house. The NLD's candidate for the upper house seat in Kachin State, an ethnic minority area...
Myanmar’s ruling party led by the country’s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi lost a constituency it previously held to the military-backed opposition party in by-elections held on November 3, preliminary results showed.
Some officials of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) are taking the by-election result as a warning against complacency ahead of the next general election in 2020.
The by-elections were held to fill five seats in the national parliament – four in the lower house and one in the upper house.
The NLD’s candidate for the upper house seat in Kachin State, an ethnic minority area bordering China, was defeated by his rival from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the former ruling party.
As for the four lower-house seats, the NLD won three of them and an ethnic minority party in Shan State the other. Both parties had previously held the seats.
Simultaneously, by-elections were held for eight seats in state and regional assemblies. The NLD lost three out of seven it previously held to the USDP and an ethnic minority party, according to the results.
The country’s election commission so has yet to release official results.
The by-elections are seen as an indicator of whether the NLD can again achieve a landslide victory in the next general election in 2020.
Although Suu Kyi is still widely popular throughout the country, there is widespread discontent at the slow pace of reforms in Myanmar since the NLD came to power in 2015.
