Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi won a parliamentary seat in yesterday's by-elections to fill 45 vacant seats. Her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), won at least 40 of the available seats, although it is still far short of a majority in the 664-member legislature.
Myanmar (or Burma) is undergoing a gradual transition to a more democratic form of government, after military junta leader Than Shwe stepped aside in 2010. Aung San Suu Kyi spent years in prison and under house arrest, but the 66-year-old recently was released and was even allowed to lead the NLD's political campaigns.
Photo by Paula Bronstein / Getty Images.
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