Updated Timeline: Tracing Military’s Interference in Myanmar Election
Myanmar army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends a commemoration of 73rd Anniversary of Tatmadaw (Navy) Day at Thilawa Port in Yangon on Dec. 24, 2020. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy
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By San Yamin Aung 20 January 2021
YANGON Even before Myanmar’s voters went to the polls in November’s general election, the country’s powerful military began flexing its political muscles, criticizing the government for the electoral body’s handling of preparations for the polls and raising doubts over whether the election was free and fair.
Its threats and warnings in the run-up to the election even prompted concerns over the possible threat of a coup. At that time, many were relieved after the military chief’s Senior General Min Aung Hlaing vowed to respect the people’s will on election day.
are in? reporter: it could take days, john. and we do have to keep in mind that this is the first openly contested election, national election this country has seen in 25 years. so we may explain why it s taking so long. the official result we have right now, more than 400 parliamentary seats up for grabs. the main opposition party, the national league for democracy has won 78 seats. the ruling political party which is the backing of the military, usdp, has won five. other parties have also won five seats. now, aung san suu kyi s party is claiming a had side victory even though official results may be days away. however, that ruling political party has also announced that it really lost this election. it got battered at the polls on sunday. john? i guess, ivan, as we look at
military-backed ruling party, the usdp, has effectively conceded defeat saying they lost more seats than they won. but big question now is going to be what is the percentage by which aung san suu kyi s party won and that s something the people are going to be watching very closely in the hours and days ahead. john? so we re all on a bit of edge here wondering how big the margin is, i guess. at the end of the day it s difficult to over state how historic this shift in power will be in myanmar. absolutely. i mean, this is a country that has been ruled by military dictatorships for more than half a century. a lot of the people that we saw celebrating outside the headquarters of the opposition mld, some of them just clearly gob smacked by the possibility that their voices have truly been heard, especially whichion tau take into account the last