There was little doubt that Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) would prevail in a free and fair national election. There was considerable concern about whether the military, which rules the country through its Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), would permit such an election. It looks increasingly like they will. Interim results show that the NLD has won an overwhelming mandate in this week's ballot. And the military looks set to devise a formula that will effectively share power with the democratic opposition.
The NLD won Myanmar's last genuinely fair election, which was held in 1990, in a landslide, claiming 392 of the 492 parliamentary seats. The military junta that ruled the country at the time — the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) — disregarded the ballot and held the leader of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest. She remained under house arrest for 15 of the 21 years until she was released in November 2010. During that time, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, making her an even more hated target of the military government.
She resumed her political career immediately upon her release and shortly after commenced discussions with the junta about registering her party to join elections and the role she could play in the country's politics. While the NLD is the country's most popular party and Suu Kyi its most popular politician, the constitution (written by the junta) institutionalizes the military's control of government and ensures that no other party can check its prerogatives.