PATHEIN, Ayeyarwady Region—The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won hands down in Ayeyarwady Region in the Nov. 8 general election.
There are a total of 92 seats—26 in the Lower House, 12 in the Upper House, 52 in the regional parliament and the Karen and Rakhine ethnic affairs minister posts—up for grabs in Ayeyarwady.
With the exception of the two ethnic affairs minister positions, the ruling party has secured all of the seats, convincingly defeating its major rival, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), according to the NLD campaign team in Ayeyarwady Region.
Team spokeswoman Daw Ni Ni Moe said, “We have won in all 26 townships in the region. So far, results in six townships have been finalized, and polling stations in other townships are also finalizing the results.”
Voting results have been finalized in Hinthada, Ingapu, Myanaung, Lemyethna, Nyaungdon and Myaungmya townships, where the NLD candidates won over their USDP rivals by margins of between 10,000 and 50,000 ballots, according to Daw Ni Ni Moe.
The Union Election Commission has not yet officially announced the results, however.
In Ingapu, current Ayeyarwady regional parliament Speaker U Aung Kyaw Khaing of the NLD beat former regional chief minister U Thein Aung of the USDP by some 15,000 votes. In Myanaung, current regional Chief Minister U Hla Moe Aung of the NLD defeated the USDP candidate by 30,000 votes.
An NLD campaign team member, U Myo Thant, said: “It is found that we have won in more constituencies that we did in 2015, and the margin is also much greater. We have won in all the constituencies that we lost in 2015.”
In the 2015 poll, the ruling party won 95 percent of the vote, securing 88 seats—25 Lower House seats, 12 Upper House seats and 51 seats in the regional parliament, including the Karen and Rakhine ethnic affairs minister positions.
Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko
You may also like these stories:
Thai Ambassador Praises Myanmar’s Election Handing
NLD Set to Sweep Capital Except for Military-Dominated Zeyarthiri Township
Myanmar’s Minorities Claim They Cannot Vote in Ethnic Affairs Ministerial Races
