Supporters of Myanmars opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi erupted in euphoric cheers on Sunday after her party said she won a parliamentary seat in a landmark election,setting the stage for her to take public office for the first time. The victory would mark a major milestone in Myanmar,where the military has ruled almost exclusively for a half-century and where a new reform-minded government is seeking legitimacy and a lifting of Western sanctions. It would also mark the biggest prize of Suu Kyis political career,and a spectacular reversal of fortune for the 66-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate who the former junta had kept imprisoned in her lakeside home for the better part of two decades. The victory claim was displayed on a digital signboard above the opposition National League for Democracys headquarters in Myanmars main city,Yangon,where more than 1,000 supporters began shouting upon learning the news. We won! We won! her supporters chanted while clapping,dancing,waving red party flags and gesturing with thumbs-up and V-for-victory signs. Earlier,the party had claimed that Suu Kyi was ahead with 65 per cent of the votes polled in 82 of her constituencys 129 polling stations. The party had staff and volunteers spread throughout the vast rice-farming district,who were calling in preliminary results by phone to their headquarters in Yangon. The results must be confirmed by the official electoral commission,however,which is yet to release any outcome and may not make an official declaration for days. The victory claim came despite allegations by her National League for Democracy party that rampant irregularities had taken place on voting day. Party spokesman Nyan Win said that by midday alone the party had filed more than 50 complaints to the Election Commission. He said most alleged violations concerned waxed ballot papers that made it difficult to mark votes. There were also ballot cards that lacked the Election Commissions seal,which would render them invalid. Sundays bypolls were called to fill just 45 vacant seats in Myanmars 664-seat national Parliament and will not change the balance of power in a new government that is nominally civilian but still heavily controlled by retired generals. Suu Kyi and other opposition candidates would have almost no say even if they win all the seats they are contesting. But her candidacy has resurrected hope among Myanmars downtrodden masses,who have grown up for generations under strict military rule. If Suu Kyi takes office as expected,it would symbolise a giant leap toward national reconciliation. She may not be able to do anything at this stage, said one voter,Go Khehtay,who cast his ballot for Suu Kyi at Wah Thin Kha,one of the dirt-poor villages in the rural constituency south of Yangon that she is vying to represent. But one day,I believe shell be able to bring real change. Earlier,crowds of supporters mobbed Suu Kyi as she visited a polling station in the village after spending the night there. The tiny community of 3,000 farmers has no electricity or running water,and its near-total underdevelopment illustrates the profound challenges facing the country as it slowly emerges from 49 years of army rule. Despite the reports of widespread irregularities,a confirmed victory by Suu Kyi could cheer Western powers and nudge them closer to easing economic sanctions they have imposed on the country for years. Suu Kyi herself told reporters Friday that the campaigning for Sundays vote been anything but free or fair,but that she was pressing forward with her candidacy because its what our people want. AP
