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Seychelles President Michel congratulates Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi as her NDL party wins 'landslide victory' in 'historic elections'

Victoria, Seychelles | November 14, 2015, Saturday @ 13:27 in National » DIPLOMACY | By: Sharon Uranie | Views: 3345
Seychelles President Michel congratulates Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi as her NDL party wins 'landslide victory' in 'historic elections'

The Seychelles President James Michel. (Seychelles News Agency) 

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(Seychelles News Agency) - With officials in Myanmar having confirmed the ‘landslide victory’ of the National League for Democracy (NDL) following what has been dubbed ‘the first openly contested poll' in the southeast Asian nation, the Seychelles President James Michel has sent a message of congratulations to the party and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has so far won 80 percent of elected seats in the recent polls, which is more than the two-thirds parliamentary majority that was needed to be able to choose the country’s next president.

According to a press statement issued by the Seychelles foreign affairs ministry this morning, the Seychellois Head of State has said the results show that the people of Myanmar have placed their trust in Suu Kyi describing the election as “testament to her strength and willpower demonstrated over many years in the face of countless challenges.”

"Your struggles and promotion of both human values and human rights have captured the hearts of many people around the world including the people of Seychelles. I am certain that all these valuable qualities will inspire generations to come in Myanmar and will inevitably lead to the further development of your country for the benefit of your people," said Michel in the statement.

Although the National League for Democracy’s win means an end to decades of a military-backed government, Suu Kyi whose late husband was British and whose children also hold British passports, cannot become president under the country’s constitution.

Anyone with foreign family members cannot become president due to a change in Myanmar's constitution, drafted by the military.

According to an AFP article, the Nobel Peace Laureate has nevertheless “pledged to rule regardless of a junta-era constitution that bars her from the presidency.”

“Both the army chief Min Aung Hlaing and President Thein Sein, whose reforms have opened the country to the world, have vowed to respect the election result and agreed to hold talks with Nobel laureate Suu Kyi,” reads the AFP report.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who is 70 years old, has spent much of her time in some form of detention between 1989 and 2010.

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Tags: Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, National League for Democracy, election, President James Michel

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