Burma's election commission has given the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi the green light to run for parliamentary byelections, another step toward political openness in a country emerging from nearly half a century of military rule.
Aung San Suu Kyi announced her intention last month to stand in elections in April but was waiting for official approval from the commission, which said it had to scrutinise her eligibility.Aung San Suu Kyi will run for a seat representing Kawhmu, a poor district south of Yangon where villagers' livelihoods were devastated by cyclone Nargis in 2008.
The election is being held to fill 48 parliamentary seats vacated by lawmakers who were appointed to the cabinet and other posts.
Even if Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party wins all 48 seats, it will have minimal power. The 440-seat lower house of parliament is heavily weighted with military appointees and allies of the former junta.
Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate has spent most of the past two decades under house arrest. She would have a voice in parliament for the first time after decades as the country's opposition leader. Her party won a sweeping victory in the 1990 general election but the junta refused to honour the results.
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