Opposition leader Suu Kyi registers to run in Myanmar by-election

Opposition leader Suu Kyi registers to run in Myanmar by-election

2012-01-19 06:12:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

YANGON (BNO NEWS) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday registered to run for a parliamentary seat in Myanmar's upcoming by-election, a Burmese news organization in exile reported.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner officially filed to run for the near-rural constituency of Kawhmu, on the outskirts of Rangoon, during the April 1 by-election. Hundreds of supporters of the 66-year-old democracy icon's National League for Democracy party gathered outside of the commission office, Mizzima News reported.

Observers believe Suu Kyi might be offered a position in health, education of the ethnic affairs area, Mizzima noted. The famed politician spent 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest until her release in November 2010.

Suu Kyi's political party, the newly-reformed National League for Democracy, will seek seats in up to 48 constituencies throughout the country at various levels of government.

In December, Suu Kyi, responding to fears that her image and reputation would be lessened as a member of Parliament, said: "Some people worry about my reputation if I contest the by-elections. We shouldn't do politics for our reputation. We have to do what we think we should do. If I think I should, I will compete in the election."

Myanmar held its first elections in 20 years in November 2010, paving the way for the end of 49 years of military rule. The country has undergone a rapid number of political changes in the past year, including the loosening of press laws, legalizing the right to demonstrate and organize as workers, the release of leading political prisoners, and ethnic cease-fire agreements.

Last week, the government signed a cease-fire agreement with Karen rebels in Hpaan, the capital of the eastern Karen state. However, in the past, the Karen National Union (KNU) has signed six cease-fire agreements with the government, all of which have been broken.

The Karen civil war has been ongoing for more than six decades, forcing generations of Karen to flee to the jungle in fear of their lives. Since the internal conflict began in 1948, an estimated 500,000 people have been killed.

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