Major Myanmar Opposition Party Wins Clear Victory in General Election

The National League for Democracy (NLD) received about 80 percent of the popular vote and secured a total of 348 of the 664 seats in the two chambers of the Myanmar parliament.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) —The major opposition party in Myanmar, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has won a clear victory in the recent historic parliamentary elections, the country's election commission said Friday.

On Sunday, parliamentary elections were held in Myanmar, which was the first national vote since a nominally civilian government was introduced in 2011 after decades of military rule. Since Monday, the results of the vote have been gradually announced.

According to the Union Election Commission, the NLD, which received about 80 percent of the popular vote, has secured a total of 348 of the 664 seats in the two chambers of the Myanmar parliament, the Assembly of the Union.

In total, the parliamentary elections involved 91 parties, but the real battle was held between the NLD and the Party of Union Solidarity and Development, supported by the military.

The leader of the NLD party, Aung San Suu Kyi, cannot become president according to the laws of the country, as her close relatives are foreigners, but due to this victory in the parliamentary elections, the NLD party has been given the opportunity to elect a new president.