Myanmar votes in milestone election

Aung San Suu Kyi visits a polling station at Kawhmu Township, Myanmar. Photo: BBCBBC Online

Thousands of Myanmarese are voting in by-elections, which see Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi running for political office for the first time.
Her National League for Democracy (NLD) is competing for all 45 seats, in the first vote it has contested since 1990.

Foreign journalists and international observers are being given the widest access they have ever had in Myanmar.
The European Union has hinted that it could ease some sanctions if the vote goes smoothly.
EU observer Ivo Belet said voting was going peacefully.
"We hope the whole day can be run in a peaceful way and we'll make an evaluation later on the basis of all the polling sessions that we will be seeing," he said.
The last time Myanmar held elections, in 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest and the generals were still in power.
Her participation in this poll is a leap of faith, a gamble that the reforms instigated by the civilian-led government will continue.
She has complained of irregularities during campaigning but says the chance to raise political awareness during her travels around the country has made it worthwhile.
The outcome of this poll will not shift the balance of power in Myanmar but it could give former dissidents a stronger voice in the official political system - a platform from which to build for the future.
Myanmar’s current government is still dominated by military and ex-military figures from the old regime that ruled the country for decades and was accused of widespread rights abuses.
But since 2010, when a transition of power began, the government has impressed observers with the pace of change.
Most political prisoners have been freed, media restrictions have been relaxed and, crucially, Suu Kyi and the NLD have been persuaded to rejoin the political process.
They have taken no part in Myanmar's political process since 1990, when the NLD won a landslide victory in a general election but the military refused to accept the result.
Suu Kyi spent much of the following 20 years under house arrest and refused to take part in the 2010 election, which ushered in the current reforms.
The NLD is one of 17 opposition parties taking part in Sunday's election. Only a fraction of seats are up for grabs and the military-backed party will still dominate.
With tens of thousands of people turning out to back Suu Kyi and her fellow NLD candidates, the by-elections have taken on a huge significance, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Rangoon.
'Not irreversible'
Suu Kyi, 66, is standing for a lower house seat in the Kawhmu Township constituency outside Rangoon.
On Sunday, Suu Kyi visited polling stations in Kawhmu before heading back to Rangoon.
The BBC's Fergal Keane, who is travelling with her, tweeted that she is still feeling the physical strains of the campaign. Last week Suu Kyi suspended her campaign because of ill-health which aides said was triggered by exhaustion.
Earlier, Suu Kyi described this year's election campaign as not ''genuinely free and fair" and warned that reforms were "not irreversible".
At least 45 seats are being contested by 176 candidates from 17 parties, with eight independents
The Lower House has 440 seats (330 elected), the Upper House 224 seats (168 elected) and the regional assemblies 14, with 25% of the seats appointed by the military
Aung San Suu Kyi is seeking a seat in Kawhmu district south of Rangoon
Her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), is contesting all seats
By-election fills vacancies of those elected in 2010 polls who became ministers and deputy ministers
But she said she and the NLD did not regret taking part.
"Still we are determined to go forward because this is what our people want," she said.
'Exciting prospect'
A small number of representatives from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean), along with the EU and US, have been invited to observe polling.
More than 100 foreign journalists are believed to have received permission to cover the vote.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said political sanctions on Myanmar were mostly "aimed towards individuals" and could be eased when EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on 23 April.
The lifting of such sanctions could "even happen with immediate effect", he told AFP news agency.
"I am excited by the prospect that finally, hopefully, Myanmar [Burma] citizens will get more freedom," De Gucht added.
"Political freedoms and economic freedoms always go together."

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