Myanmar's military has detained the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi in an apparent coup, her ruling party's spokesman said Monday. The military, which ruled the country for nearly five decades, had this week refused to rule out seizing power over its claims of voter fraud in November's elections, won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Myo Nyunt, the spokesman for the NLD, said Suu Kyi, along with President Win Myint, h

Myanmar's military on Saturday vowed to abide by the country's constitution, in an apparent backtracking after its commander-in-chief spurred fears of a coup when he suggested the charter could be repealed. The army has for weeks alleged widespread irregularities in November's election, won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD). Tensions were ramped up Tuesday when a military spokesman refused to rule out the poss

Myanmar's military-aligned opposition party on Wednesday rejected the results of this week's election as "unfair" and called for a fresh vote - a demand immediately rebuffed by the election authorities.Official results are still trickling in, but Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party has already declared a landslide victory based on its own tallies from across the country.The polls are only the second since the country emerged from outright junta rule in 2011.Observers said

After five years without a single Muslim MP, Myanmar is in need of someone to help fight for the rights of oppressed minorities, says Sithu Maung as he celebrates his election to parliament.The 33-year-old was one of just two Muslims out of more than 1,100 candidates for Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party - up from zero in the last election in 2015.Muslims number about four percent of the national population and suffer particularly high levels of discrimi

Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) said Monday it was confident of winning a landslide victory in Myanmar as official results trickled in following the weekend's coronavirus-disrupted election.Millions lined up for hours to cast their ballots on Sunday - only the second national election since the country emerged from outright military rule in 2011.Nobel laureate Suu Kyi remains a heroine for many in the Bamar majority heartlands, in spite of a global repu

Vote counting continued late into the night in Myanmar after an election Sunday that is expected to return to power the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains a hero at home in spite of a reputation abroad shattered by the Rohingya crisis.Several hundred ardent supporters ignored coronavirus warnings and gathered in a premature celebration, dancing, singing and waving flags outside the Yangon headquarters of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).Overall results, however, wil

Five million young voters will be able to cast their ballots for the first time in Myanmar's election on Sunday – about 14 percent of the electorate.In a country that emerged less than a decade ago from near total isolation under military rule, the nation's youth defies easy classification. AFP spoke to a number of Myanmar's Generation Z about the challenges they face and what they hope the next government will bring.Rakhine AngerHistory student Wai Wai Tun, 19, can vo

As Aung San Suu Kyi is vilified internationally for denying genocide against the Rohingya, her opponents in Sunday's Myanmar election are ramping up the rhetoric against the Muslim minority.There was global revulsion at military-backed operations in 2017 that saw hundreds of thousands of people flee burning villages into the squalor of refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.The horrifying violence - including widespread reports of murder and rape - has left Suu Kyi's international

Myanmar is set to hold general elections on 8 November amid a second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

An armed group in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state confirmed Monday it had taken three election candidates of Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling party prisoner ahead of a November election already marred by mass disenfranchisement.Militant group the Arakan Army (AA) has for nearly two years been locked in battle against the military, fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine population.Both sides stand accused of rights abuses, with hundreds killed or injured and some 20