Suu Kyi’s party claims landslide win

Myanmar's ruling party yesterday said it had won enough seats in parliament to form the next government, after reporting a lead based on its unofficial count of votes from the country's second general election since the end of strict military rule. 

Party spokesman Myo Nyunt told Reuters internal reports showed the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, had won the 322 seats in parliament needed, though no official results had been announced by the election commission.

Up for grabs in the election are 315 seats in the 425-member lower house and 161 seats in the 217-seat upper house of parliament. The Election Commission was expected to announce official results later yesterday.

Sunday's election was seen as a referendum on the fledgling democratic government led by Suu Kyi and the NLD, which remains hugely popular at home but has seen its reputation collapse overseas amid allegations of genocide against the Rohingya minority.

Despite the expected emphatic win, the new Suu Kyi-led government is expected to face a myriad of challenges. In contrast to the wave of optimism that greeted the NLD's landslide win in 2015, Myanmar went into this election under a cloud of a surging Covid-19 outbreak, economic hardship and escalating ethnic conflicts.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen yesterday said Bangladesh would welcome the new government in Myanmar and expressed optimism over the resumption of talks on Rohingya repatriation using a tripartite mechanism.

Bangladesh, Myanmar and China are planning to hold foreign minister-level talks, likely in Beijing, to begin the process without any delay. Despite repeated pledges from Myanmar, not a single Rohingya returned to Rakhine over the last three years.

According to UNB, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has recently assured Dhaka on Rohingya repatriation, saying Myanmar has pledged to take them back.

The comment came after Bangladesh warned that prolonged stay of Rohingyas in Bangladesh would "jeopardise regional and international security".

Repatriation attempts failed twice in November 2018 and August 2019 amid Rohingyas' "lack of trust" in the Myanmar government. Bangladesh and Myanmar signed the repatriation deal on November 23, 2017.

The United Nations has said there was genocidal intent in a 2017 army crackdown that forced 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Myanmar rejects that saying its security forces were carrying out legitimate operations against Rohingya militants.

The NLD came to power after a 2015 landslide in which it won a total of 390 seats, a benchmark Myo Nyunt said it expected to exceed, according to data compiled from reports by party agents at polling stations across the country.

A spokesman for the second biggest party, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) could not immediately be reached for comment.

The military, which ruled Myanmar for nearly 50 years until it began withdrawing from civilian politics in 2011, controls a quarter of seats in both houses of parliament, under a constitution it drew up and which Suu Kyi and her allies want to amend.

Despite a high turnout, more than a million people across the country were unable to vote after polls were cancelled due to insurgencies, including hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas.  The election commission has said the polls in areas affected by conflict had to be cancelled for safety reasons and that only citizens were entitled to vote.

Most Rohingya are not considered Myanmar citizens even though many can trace family roots back many generations.

UK SAYS NEW GOVT MUST TAKE BACK ROHINGYAS

The United Kingdom yesterday demanded that the new government in Myanmar would take steps towards safe, voluntary and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their place of origin in Rakhine State.

"The new government must work to address the valid concerns of people across Rakhine," Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister for South Asia and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), told UNB while exclusively responding to a few questions.

The UK minister reminded that the solution lies in Myanmar, and the UK is working tirelessly for accountability and justice. "We'll also provide the political support needed to resolve this crisis in the long-term."

He said they also want the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations to be implemented, including recognising the Rohingyas as citizens of Myanmar and allowing them freedom of movement, as well as making sure they can access essential services, like schooling and jobs.

The government of Bangladesh has planned to relocate 100,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char, to ease the burden on Cox's Bazar camps and avoid the risk of deaths due to landslides during the rainy season.

Several Bangladeshi media outlets have recently visited Bhasan Char and found the facilities there far better than that of Cox's Bazar camps.

Asked about the relocation plan, Minister Ahmad said the UK is absolutely clear that the relocation of Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char must be "safe, voluntary and dignified".

Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar district.