Myanmar Begins Counting Votes After Historic Elections To Overthrow 25 Years Of Military Rule In Favor Of Democracy

Myanmar has begun counting votes post a landmark election that took place in the country after 25 years of military rule. The country witnessed 80 percent of its eligible voters queuing in front of polling booths to decide their next central administration.

The first general elections in Myanmar went without any major incidents. The country has now begun the tedious process of counting the ballots. As voting ended in the country’s first openly contested parliamentary election in more than 25 years, people are strongly hoping to end the military rule and replace it with democracy.

The tensions are still high in Myanmar, as quite a few voters still seemed to support the military-backed ruling party and wanted it to remain in power. However, there were increasing numbers of people who wish to hand over the reins of the country to the party currently sitting in opposition. The party is headed by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The 80 percent voter turnout is being hailed as a strong sign that indicates people desperately want change and they intend to distance themselves from decades of military rule. Reports indicate those who refrained from voting or were afraid during the last elections have braved to vote this time. Many had started to make a beeline long before the polling booths opened at 6 a.m.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), which has been sitting in the opposition, has tried hard to ensure its representatives are elected and the general consensus indicates NLD stands a good chance of winning most of the parliamentary seats.

Unfortunately, though, Suu Kyi won’t become the president, even if her party wins, because she has been barred from the presidency. She was held in house-arrest for 15 years as political prisoner. As reported by the Inquisitr, a provision of the current Myanmar constitution, which was drawn up by the ruling military-backed party, bars any citizen with a child who “owes allegiance to a foreign power” from holding the office of president. Suu Kyi has two sons who were both born in England and hold British passports, which technically makes her ineligible to hold the seat of power. Aung San Suu Kyi is popularly referred to as “Mother Suu” for her untiring efforts to bring back democracy.

Since her release, Aung San Suu Kyi has led the protests that demanded reforms for Myanmar. A minor victory was achieved in 2011, when the military-backed government partially handed power to a semi-civilian government. Despite the general elections, 25 percent of seats in parliament will remain reserved for military appointees. Moreover, the men in armed forces will retain control over key ministries, including home affairs. This has severely curtailed the efficacy of the elections, but voters are happy that it’s a start.

The Military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) has occupied the seat of power in Myanmar for almost 25 years, and had refused to relent until a few years ago. During the last election, which Suu Kyi won by a landslide, the USDP had usurped power by declaring the election results void. However, this time the party has vowed to abide by the decision of Myanmar’s citizens.

The results of the election should be available within the next 36 hours (15:30 GMT on Monday) as the vote count is a slow and tedious process in Myanmar. However, that hasn’t stopped people from cheering in front of NLD’s headquarters in Yangon, reported Al Jazeera.

The elections have been fairly peaceful, with sporadic incidents. Local authorities added that were no reports of violence or unrest which might have hindered the process. To ensure the world takes notice of the election process, international observers were allowed to witness the voting process.

[Photo by Romeo Gacad / Getty Images]