Myanmar’s Suu Kyi forecast to triumph in coronavirus-hit ‘apartheid’ election

Millions of the citizens overcame their fears about the coronavirus to vote in the country’s second election since it emerged from junta rule

Restrictions against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities meant nearly two million voters were disenfranchised from an electorate of 37 million

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People wearing face shields, face masks and rubber gloves to prevent the spread of the coronavirus wait to vote during the elections at a polling station in Yangon on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:20pm, 8 Nov 2020Updated: 10:43pm, 8 Nov 2020

Vote counting started in Myanmar as polls closed on Sunday in an election that is expected to return to power the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains a hero at home in spite of a reputation abroad shattered by the Rohingya crisis.

The election is just the second since the Southeast Asian nation emerged from nearly half a century of junta rule in 2011.

Five years ago, Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory but was forced by the constitution into an uneasy power-sharing agreement with the still-mighty military.

This time, the civilian leader – in a bid to maintain an absolute majority – has implored citizens to overcome their coronavirus fears to turn out and cast their ballots.

Millions turned out early to line up outside polling stations before the sun had even risen, while others waited for hours in the heat to enter temples, shopping centres and offices to cast their ballots.

In Mandalay – Myanmar’s second-largest city and a hotspot for infections – people crowded into a polling station outside the city’s ancient palace.