Parliament in place of junta opens new era in Myanmar

The NLD won some 80 percent of elected seats in November’s historic vote, catapulting it to power as Myanmar’s ruling party after decades of struggle that saw many of its members imprisoned. But the junta-drafted constitution means the party will have to share power with the army that for years suppressed, often brutally, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and her allies. 

The first sitting of the NLD-dominated parliament is another step in Myanmar’s drawn-out transition, which started with the election and will go on until the NLD government officially begins its term in April after parliament has picked a president. Under the 2008 constitution, Suu Kyi is barred from taking the position because her children are not Myanmar citizens. She has given no indication as to who will take over from outgoing President Thein Sein and the NLD has no clear number two.