Aung San Suu Kyi poised for victory in historic Burma elections

AUNG San Suu Kyi, the tenacious pro-democracy campaigner and the Burmese government’s most prominent critic, is set to be voted into office for the first time in national by-elections today.

Burma’s military leaders have spent two decades trying to silence the Nobel Peace Prize winner, but they are now on the verge of an extraordinary about-turn – allowing her a seat in parliament.

Her participation in polling has been made possible by a fragile detente with a regime that has surprised its critics by embarking on democratic reforms in the past few months.

The by-elections, held to fill vacant seats in the national parliament, will not change the balance of power in a nation still heavily controlled by a deeply-feared military. But Suu Kyi’s campaign has galvanised Burma’s downtrodden masses and resurrected hope. However, there have been fears over the 66-year-old’s health.

A week ago she fell ill due to seasickness and exhaustion while campaigning by boat in southern Myeik. On Friday, she said she remained “a little delicate”.

Some see the absence of the National League for Democracy’s leader on the hustings as “not so damaging”, according to campaign manager Nyan Win. “If it’s a free and fair election, we’ll win all the seats.”

Even while convalescing though, Suu Kyi is still campaigning, he said. “She is giving us many instructions from her house.”

Burma’s vote, which takes place today and in which only 45 of the 664 seats in the parliament will be contested, is more than a test of its nascent democratic credentials.

It also suggests that a vibrant political scene is emerging in a once-isolated nation run by the military for half a century until a semi-civilian government took office last year and embarked on various reforms.

The logo of Suu Kyi’s party is a yellow peacock and white star against a red background. During decades of military dictatorship, even owning an NLD flag could lead to a jail sentence. But since Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from years of house arrest in November 2010, the NLD flag has been displayed with increasing confidence. During her nationwide campaign, tens of thousands of people have lined the streets wearing T-shirts bearing the fighting peacock.

This is only the third election Burma has held since 1962, when the military seized power. The most recent, in 1990, was won by the liberal-leaning NLD, but the military junta simply overruled the election results.