Pursuits
Suu Kyi's Election Victory Masks Lingering Power of Myanmar Army
- National League for Democracy confirms landslide victory
- Military may hold influence in parliament, economy for years
Myanmar's military officers attend a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of Armed Forces Day in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw.
Photographer: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
It’s been a long time coming. Aung San Suu Kyi has been waiting for this for more than a quarter of a century, the jubilant crowds in Yangon and across Myanmar have sensed it over the past weeks of campaigning, and now the electoral commission has confirmed it: Myanmar is returning to democracy.
Yet behind the people chanting Suu Kyi’s name in the streets, the specter of the military remains. Having controlled the Southeast Asian nation for more than five decades, and with its careful opening up to the west in recent years, it’s been preparing for this moment, too.