Suu Kyi on campaign trail for own parliament seat
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The
democracy icon has already taken two campaign trips outside her home
city ahead of April's crucial by-elections, but this is her first day
taking to the streets in the rural township of Kawhmu, where she is
contesting the vote.
The
polls have huge symbolic value as the first time Suu Kyi, the leader of
the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been able to directly
participate in a Myanmar election.
"I
hope they will be free and fair. There have been a few hitches but I
hope that these will be sorted out," she told on Friday.
Suu
Kyi is expected to be greeted by thousands of cheering supporters in
Kawhmu, as she has been on recent pre-election trips to the Irrawaddy
delta and the southern city of Dawei.
Her
participation is likely to lend legitimacy to the country's parliament,
which first convened early last year and is dominated by former
generals who kept her in detention for much of the past two decades.
Suu
Kyi was released from house arrest a few days after a widely-criticised
election in 2010, and the upcoming polls are being held to fill places
vacated by those who have since become government ministers and deputy
ministers.
The
NLD is running for all 48 seats up for grabs, but even taking all of
them would not threaten the army-backed ruling party's majority.
"We
will work very hard to win all 48 seats. It's not a matter of
expectations, it's a matter of hard work," the Nobel Peace Prize winner
said ahead of the campaign day.
Controversy surrounding the 2010 vote means the upcoming by-elections will be heavily scrutinised.
But
the new regime has impressed even sceptics with its reform process,
which has included welcoming the NLD back into the political mainstream
and signing ceasefire deals with ethnic minority rebels.
The
release of hundreds of political prisoners has been particularly
welcomed by sanctions-imposing Western powers, leading the United States
to begin restoring full diplomatic relations with Myanmar.
On Monday, Washington also announced a waiver to allow assessments in the country by international financial institutions.
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