Important impediments remain to a fully democratic civilian government, Kerry said, “including the reservation of a large number of unelected seats for the military; the disfranchisement of groups of people who voted in previous elections, including the Rohingya; and the disqualification of candidates based on arbitrary application of citizenship and residency requirements”.
Still, there was excitement among voters about the first general election since a quasi-civilian government replaced military rule in 2011, which was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s unsteady reform process.
“I’ve done my bit for change, for the emergence of democracy,” said Daw Myint, a 55-year-old former teacher, after she cast her vote for the NLD in Yangon.
Many voters doubted the military would accept the outcome of the vote if the NLD wins.