YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — The latest on landmark elections in Myanmar. (All times local.)
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10:50 a.m.
A Washington-based human rights group has warned that ethnic and religious tension in Myanmar could boil over in the aftermath of the country’s historic election and lead to violence.
The group, United to End Genocide, urged the international community to closely monitor conditions in Myanmar where the about 500,000 eligible voters from the country’s 1.3-million-strong Rohingya Muslim minority were barred from voting.
In a statement, it said the “poisoned atmosphere against Muslims in general (and) the Rohingya in particular will not be cleared with an election.”
It warned of “volatile and dangerous conditions” that could lead to violence that would serve the interests of the military. It called on the international community to closely monitor the situation in Myanmar.
Preliminary results showed Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition party was headed for a landslide win over the military-backed ruling party.
The government considers Rohingya foreigners even though they have lived in Myanmar for generations. Neither the opposition party nor the military-backed ruling party fielded a single Muslim candidate in Sunday’s vote.
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10:45 a.m.
Myanmar’s opposition party spokesman has accused the government’s election commission of intentionally delaying results from Sunday’s vote.
National League for Democracy party spokesman Win Htein told reporters Tuesday that it appears the Union Election Commission wants to “maybe play a trick or something.”
The commission has released very few results from Sunday’s general election, which the NLD appears to have swept. The party led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has released its own tallies from four states, which show it to be heading for a massive victory.
The trend was expected to continue in Myanmar’s remaining 10 states, indicating that the military-backed ruling Union Solidarity Development Party is facing a rout.
Win Htein said: “It doesn’t make sense that they are releasing the result little piece by piece. It shouldn’t be like that.”
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9:30 a.m.
Many people in the streets of Yangon were sitting on sidewalks, in rickshaws or on front porches reading morning newspapers splashed with Aung San Suu Kyi’s picture, as the nation awaited final confirmation of her election victory.
The front pages were another reflection of the massive changes in this long-repressed country: During the junta’s rule, photos of Suu Kyi (pronounced “soo chee”) were banned from media.
Tuesday’s headline in the Daily Eleven Newspaper read: “NLD is winning as the people are willing to change this country,” a reference to the main opposition party led by Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy.
Than Yin, a 74-year-old sitting on his porch in Yangon, said he was too frail to join the crowds waiting to see Suu Kyi in person, but reading the newspaper was exciting.
“I am old but I want change,” he said.
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7 a.m.
The White House is congratulating Myanmar on its historic election, but says “more work needs to be done” on its road to democracy.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the contest was a “meaningful, competitive election” and an “important step in Burma’s democratic reform process.”
He says the White House is encouraged by signs of broad participation among women, young people and ethnic minorities.
But in a statement to reporters, Earnest noted “structural and systemic flaws” in Myanmar’s system, pointing to laws that appear to be directly aimed at barring Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president.
Earnest says, “There are some imperfections — to put it mildly. There’s also no denying the rather dramatic change we’ve seen inside of Burma.”
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