Aung San Suu Kyi's party expected to win second term as Myanmar goes to polls

Polls have opened in Myanmar on Sunday morning and the government of incumbent Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to return to power. The Counsellor, who won the first openly contested election in 2015 with a landslide majority, is projected to form the government again in military dominant Myanmar. 

Read: Suu Kyi's Party Expected To Win Second Term In Myanmar Polls

Myanmar's partial democracy

Even though Myanmar transitioned into a democracy five years ago, critics argue that the South Asian State is yet to showcase full democratic traits. Several religious minority groups, including the persecuted Rohingya Muslims, have been denied to cast ballots in today's vote, and reports of election rigging have emerged from various parts of the country, where the opposition candidates were predicted to win.

Read: Myanmar Election: Incumbent Aung San Suu Kyi Projected To Win Despite Rohingya Crisis

The Nobel laureate Suu Kyi is facing a lot of flak from the international community for denying Rohingya Muslims their right to vote. Rohingyas faced state-sponsored persecution in the Rakhine state of Myanmar from 2017-2018 and had to flee the Buddhist majority country, with nearly 8,00,000 of them currently living in refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.  

Read: Firebrand Monk Surrenders To Police Days Before Myanmar Vote

The Election Commission of the country has been accused of favouring Suu Kyi as it has reportedly cancelled votes in seats where the opposition candidates were projected to win. However, the Election Commission insists that the voting was cancelled because of the armed conflict in the area with local guerrilla groups. And with some seats already reserved for the military, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party has a real chance of winning the 2020 election. 

Read: UN Expert Airs Human Rights Concerns Ahead Of Myanmar Vote

Myanmar, which saw an intensive military rule for five decades, has some seats reserved for the members of the Army, which also gets a large chunk when the cabinet is formed. The military oversaw the drafting of the constitution in 2008 and assured that it continues to play a vital role in the power formation of the country. 

(Image Credit: AP)