Myanmar president vows smooth transition of power to new govt

Nov 15 Myanmar's President Thein Sein today vowed a smooth transition of power to the new government. During his first public appearance in Yangon since the polls, he said historic November 8 polls were the consequence of his government's reforms. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party got landslide victory in the polls. The former junta general Thein Sein said the polls were testament to the political and economic changes that have swept the former pariah state since the end of junta rule. Addressing representatives of nearly 90 political parties, many of which were trounced by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, the Myanmar leader said elections are the duty of a democratic nation. His army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party will slip into opposition in the next parliament. His party got ten percent of the elected seats in the parliament, compared to the NLD's 80 percent.