HINTHADA, Myanmar (Reuters) - The acting chairman of Myanmar's
ruling party conceded defeat to Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition on
Monday (Nov 9) and said he would accept the result of the country's
first free national election in 25 years.
"We lost," Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) leader
Htay Oo told Reuters in an interview.
The vote count is still under way and no results have been
officially announced, but preliminary reports from around the
country indicate a wide margin of victory for Ms Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD).
"We have to find out the reason why we lost," Mr Htay Oo, a close
ally of President Thein Sein, said. "However, we do accept the
results without any reservations. We still don't know the final
results for sure."
Mr Htay Oo said he was surprised by the scale of his defeat in his
own parliamentary constituency in Hinthada, in the delta region,
considered the heartland of the USDP's rural support base.
"I wasn't expecting it because we were able to do a lot for the
people in this region." he said. "Anyway, it's the decision of the
people."
The NLD has won more than 80 per cent of the general election votes
counted so far in the densely populated central regions, NLD
spokesman Win Htein said on Monday.
Outside the central area, the NLD had so far won more than 65 per
cent of votes cast in the states of Mon and Kayin, he said.
Results from the five other states were not yet known, he added.
The central area is made up of seven administrative divisions.
ST