Myanmar Voters Head to Polls in Freest Election in 25 Years
- First nationwide election contested by Suu Kyi since 1990
- Unclear if opposition will win enough seats to take power
Election officials discuss protocol inside a polling station in Yangon, Myanmar, on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015. Myanmar's campaign has ended and voters head to the polls Nov. 8 for the nation's most important election since 1990, when military rulers refused to hand power to the victors. Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg
Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi joined more than 30 million Myanmar citizens voting Sunday in the nation’s most important election in 25 years. What comes next may test the military’s willingness to share power with the democracy campaigner who missed the past two national polls because she was under house arrest.
Suu Kyi, who is barred by the constitution from becoming president, was greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters when she arrived to vote before 9 a.m. at a school in Yangon, the country’s biggest city. Dressed in red, the color of her National League for Democracy party, she emerged minutes later with a finger dyed by purple ink, before being ushered through a crush of reporters without making any comments.