Myanmar Elections: Waiting for Governance
MILLIONS of Myanmar voters cast votes in an election yesterday that promises to change the country - but many admitted the reality that their dream may not come true this time.
U Khin Maung Aye, a candidate of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), conceded that the popular National League for Democracy (NLD) would win more seats than the government party.
"But unless the NLD wins more than 66.5 per cent of seats in the lower and upper house combined, it cannot set up a government alone," he said.
The ruling USDP expects to win 40 per cent of seats in the parliament from voters across the entire country. It has less support in Yangon, Mandalay and Bago and expects to win only 20-30 per cent of seats in those regions, he said.
With support from the military quota in parliament - 25 per cent of MPs - plus an alliance of small parties, the USDP could secure 66.5 per cent of both houses to form the government, he said.
"The problem is our government is not very much clean. Our ministers are corrupt and quite unfortunately these corrupt ministers are our party's members. The people have not very much faith in our party," said the candidate, a former English-language teacher and journalist from Kamayut township.
Voters had queued from before dawn in huge numbers to cast their ballots for the first time in a quarter of a century, on a day heavy with history and pregnant with emotion.
As counting got under way, early indications were of an "80 percent" turnout, according to Union Election Commission deputy director Thant Zin Aung -- a figure the opposition believe favours their bid for a majority.
Voting was generally smooth, observers said, with some isolated irregularities. The first official results are expected to be issued from 09:00 local time (15:30 GMT) today.
Although the outcome of the poll will not be clear for at least 36 hours, a densely packed crowd blocked a busy road beside the headquarters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy in Yangon as they cheered and waved red flags.
Thousands of supporters gathered there in the hope of some indication of victory from Suu Kyi. But the woman known affectionately as "The Lady" did not appear.
Instead NLD patron Tin Oo read a message from the party's figurehead.
"I urge you to wait for the result from your own homes," he said, adding: "When the result comes out, I want you to accept it calmly."
"One of the things that is different this year is that the government has welcomed international observation," Britain's ambassador, Andrew Patrick, told the Observer in the former colonial capital of Rangoon, now the country's largest city and renamed Yangon. "We have 25 embassy teams around the country."
Sein has pushed through reforms, releasing political prisoners, allowing a relatively independent press to thrive and opening the long-isolated economy to foreign investment after sanctions were lifted.
But critics of the former junta and their handpicked civilian government say that, while the economy has opened up, the rewards have not been shared and political freedoms are few.
International observers, including those from the European Union and the Carter Centre, wandered about. While waiting, local media interviewed foreign journalists and journalists interviewed voters. Most abided by the law prohibiting them from telling others which party they would vote for.
The excitement peaked at 9am as Suu Kyi arrived. Her chauffeur drove her directly to the entrance of the voting booth, while hundreds of media members and her supporters tightly surrounded her vehicle. People were pushed as security guards shouted, "Move, Move".
As soon as she got out of her car, resplendent in a dark red blouse and white jasmine in her hair, her supporters shouted in Burmese: "NLD must win". The noise was loud enough to silence the sound of over a hundred cameras.
The Nobel laureate was escorted to the booth, where she cast her ballot, photographed and taken back to her vehicle. Everything happened in less than five minutes, so quick that some could not wade through the crowd to see the colour of her longyi.
Then there was more pushing and the scene nearly disintegrated into a "stampede". As everyone closely followed Suu Kyi's vehicle, someone stepped really hard on my foot and someone else knocked the mobile phone from my hand. A long microphone handle nearly hit a Nation TV reporter in the eye. Blood spilled and some voters rapidly offered tissue.
As soon as her car left the gate, the commotion stopped. People dispersed, including Than Win.
"Even though I waited for about two hours, I saw only the colour of her dress. At least I've witnessed first-hand how much people love her, wherever she goes and whatever she does," he said.
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