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RANGOON—She struggled for a free Burma for a quarter-century, much of it spent locked away under house arrest. Now, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose nonviolent campaign for democracy at home transformed her into a global icon is on the verge of ascending to public office for the first time.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 66, was elected to Parliament on Sunday in a historic victory buffeted by the jubilant cheers of supporters who hope her triumph will mark a major turning point in a nation still emerging from a ruthless era of military rule.
If confirmed, the election win will also mark an astonishing reversal of fortune for a woman who became one of the world’s most prominent prisoners of conscience. When she was finally released in late 2010, just after a vote her party boycotted that was deemed neither free nor fair, few could have imagined she would make the leap from democracy advocate to elected official in less than 17 months, opening the way for a potential presidential run in 2015.
But Burma has changed dramatically over that time. The junta finally ceded power last year, and although many of its leaders merely swapped their military uniforms for civilian suits, they went on to stun even their staunchest critics by releasing political prisoners, signing ceasefires with rebels, relaxing press censorship and opening a direct dialogue with Suu Kyi—whom they tried to silence for decades.
As results came in on Sunday night from the poll watchers of Suu Kyi’s party, spokesman and campaign manager Nyan Win projected the opposition would secure most of the vote, winning 40 of 45 parliament seats at stake. Those included four in the capital, Naypyidaw, considered a stronghold of the ruling party whose leaders helped build it.
Other party members, who asked not to be named because they were waiting to verify some returns, said they achieved a clean sweep of all 44 seats they contested.
The results must be confirmed by the government’s Union Electoral Commission, however, which has yet to release any outcome and may not make an official declaration for days.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton congratulated Burma for holding the poll. Speaking at a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey, she said Washington was committed to supporting the Southeast Asian nation’s reform effort.
