Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) claimed another landslide victory in Myanmar's second general election since the end of military rule in 2011. The elections were marked by poll cancellations in several townships – which led to the disenfranchisement of more than 1.5 million people (in addition to the 600,000 Rohingyas in the country who were barred from registering to vote) – and the growing COVID-19 figures, which limited campaigning. Going ahead, the next five-year term will not only be crucial for Myanmar's democratic transition, and could mark a turning point in the country's peace process.
In this interview, we speak to Ei Ei Toe Lwin, chief election correspondent for the Yangon-based magazine Frontier Myanmar. She talks to us about the major challenges faced during the elections, her assessment of the media coverage of the election, the major dividing lines between the parties, and the future of Myanmar's peace process.
***
Himal Southasian: Against the backdrop of a looming economic and public-health crisis and the ongoing conflicts in the northeast and the west, how do you think another landslide victory for the NLD will impact the country going ahead?