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Myanmar Opposition Welcomes Election Announcement


Myanmar, also known as Burma
Myanmar, also known as Burma

The main opposition in Myanmar, also known as Burma, says it welcomes the announcement of general elections for late next year.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), which is led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, says it is looking forward to the vote.

But NLD election team member Tun Tun Hein told VOA Tuesday that his party is cautious and will be watching closely to make sure the balloting is free and fair.

“The Commission got bad credit in the 2010 General Election. NLD didn’t participate in the 2010 Election, but will contest in most constituencies of the whole country," he said. "We have a lot of party members and manpower, and so we can send monitoring groups to every polling station.”

On Monday, Election Commission officials said the vote will take place in late October or early November of next year.

The next parliament is expected to choose the country's next president in early 2016. This will be Myanmar's second general election since the country began to emerge from decades of military rule in 2011.

This report was produced in collaboration with the VOA Burmese service.

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