<p>Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party secured an absolute majority in Myanmar's election, official results showed Friday, in a poll disputed by the military-aligned opposition and criticised by rights groups.</p>.<p>Her National League for Democracy (NLD) had already declared a landslide victory based on its own tallies, prompting street celebrations by supporters.</p>.<p>But official figures were still being returned five days after the ballot, only the second such polls since the nation emerged from outright military rule in 2011.</p>.<p>Results announced by the election commission Friday showed the NLD had won 346 seats -- more than 50 percent of parliament, even taking into account the quarter of seats reserved for the military under the constitution.</p>.<p>The party is on track to improve on its landslide win in 2015, despite widespread disillusion in many ethnic-minority areas.</p>.<p>"People clearly realised the need for the NLD to get enough votes to form a government on their own," NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding this would help "minimise political conflict".</p>.<p>The military-aligned opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has been trounced across the country, winning just 25 seats by Friday.</p>.<p>The party alleges the vote was neither free nor fair and is demanding that the Union Election Commission (UEC) step down and polls be re-run.</p>.<p>Yangon-based analyst Khin Zaw Win warned the coming months will be messy, adding the situation was a consequence of the UEC being filled with "yes-men and incompetents".</p>.<p>Under the constitution, the government appoints all commission members.</p>.<p>But even if some results were overturned, "the NLD landslide is so large that they wouldn't alter the overall outcome", said Richard Horsey from the International Crisis Group.</p>.<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already tweeted his congratulations to Suu Kyi, writing he looked forward to strengthening the neighbours' "traditional bonds of friendship".</p>.<p>Observers have widely concluded that voting took place smoothly on the day, despite forecasts of a low turnout due to a recent surge of coronavirus cases.</p>.<p>But they condemned what they described as the election commission's lack of transparency and its cancellation of the polls across many ethnic minority areas -- ostensibly for security reasons.</p>.<p>The move left 1.5 million voters disenfranchised and sparked grievances in already restive areas that the playing field had been tilted in favour of the NLD.</p>.<p>Some will conclude the electoral process does not work for them and choose "political insurrection or insurgency instead", warned Horsey.</p>.<p>Rights groups have also condemned the vote, which left virtually all Rohingya Muslims disenfranchised, either languishing in Bangladeshi refugee camps or stripped of citizenship in Myanmar.</p>.<p>Even though Suu Kyi's international reputation was badly hurt over the Rohingya crisis -- for which the country now faces charges of genocide -- she remains widely revered within Myanmar.</p>
<p>Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party secured an absolute majority in Myanmar's election, official results showed Friday, in a poll disputed by the military-aligned opposition and criticised by rights groups.</p>.<p>Her National League for Democracy (NLD) had already declared a landslide victory based on its own tallies, prompting street celebrations by supporters.</p>.<p>But official figures were still being returned five days after the ballot, only the second such polls since the nation emerged from outright military rule in 2011.</p>.<p>Results announced by the election commission Friday showed the NLD had won 346 seats -- more than 50 percent of parliament, even taking into account the quarter of seats reserved for the military under the constitution.</p>.<p>The party is on track to improve on its landslide win in 2015, despite widespread disillusion in many ethnic-minority areas.</p>.<p>"People clearly realised the need for the NLD to get enough votes to form a government on their own," NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt told AFP, adding this would help "minimise political conflict".</p>.<p>The military-aligned opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has been trounced across the country, winning just 25 seats by Friday.</p>.<p>The party alleges the vote was neither free nor fair and is demanding that the Union Election Commission (UEC) step down and polls be re-run.</p>.<p>Yangon-based analyst Khin Zaw Win warned the coming months will be messy, adding the situation was a consequence of the UEC being filled with "yes-men and incompetents".</p>.<p>Under the constitution, the government appoints all commission members.</p>.<p>But even if some results were overturned, "the NLD landslide is so large that they wouldn't alter the overall outcome", said Richard Horsey from the International Crisis Group.</p>.<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already tweeted his congratulations to Suu Kyi, writing he looked forward to strengthening the neighbours' "traditional bonds of friendship".</p>.<p>Observers have widely concluded that voting took place smoothly on the day, despite forecasts of a low turnout due to a recent surge of coronavirus cases.</p>.<p>But they condemned what they described as the election commission's lack of transparency and its cancellation of the polls across many ethnic minority areas -- ostensibly for security reasons.</p>.<p>The move left 1.5 million voters disenfranchised and sparked grievances in already restive areas that the playing field had been tilted in favour of the NLD.</p>.<p>Some will conclude the electoral process does not work for them and choose "political insurrection or insurgency instead", warned Horsey.</p>.<p>Rights groups have also condemned the vote, which left virtually all Rohingya Muslims disenfranchised, either languishing in Bangladeshi refugee camps or stripped of citizenship in Myanmar.</p>.<p>Even though Suu Kyi's international reputation was badly hurt over the Rohingya crisis -- for which the country now faces charges of genocide -- she remains widely revered within Myanmar.</p>