Opposition snubs results, demands new vote

Myanmar's military-aligned opposition party yesterday rejected the results of this week's election as "unfair" and called for a fresh vote -- a demand immediately rebuffed by the election authorities. 

Official results are still trickling in, but Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party has already declared a landslide victory based on its own tallies from across the country.

The opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) went further, however.

"We reject the election because it was unfair," spokesperson Win Win Aung said, alleging that many ineligible people had cast ballots. "We call on the election commission to hold a new, disciplined election in cooperation with the military as soon as possible."

Observers broadly approved the overall conduct of the polls on Sunday.

Suu Kyi remains a heroine for many in Myanmar, even though her international reputation lies shattered over the Rohingya crisis.

Rights groups denounced the vote for its almost absolute disenfranchisement of Rohingyas, either living in refugee camps in Bangladesh or "apartheid" conditions in Myanmar.

The UEC's decision to cancel the election in many ethnic minority areas left a further 1.6 million more people -- from an electorate of 37 million -- without a vote.