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Suu Kyi wins a 2012 by-election and enters parliament

On 1 April 2012 Aung San Suu Kyi won a Kawhmu by-election and entered the Pyithu Hluttaw. In the causal graph this event strengthens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — an improving welfare path.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

On 1 April 2012 Aung San Suu Kyi won a Kawhmu by-election and entered the Pyithu Hluttaw.

Context

UEC declared. Thein Sein still held the presidency. An MP oath is still a dated democratic-entry instrument.

2010 release is the neighbouring opening. 2015 landslide is later.

Myanmar’s State Counsellor (2016–2021) was de facto civilian head under the 2008 Constitution; she did not command the Tatmadaw’s autonomous ministries, write a Bangladeshi gazette, an ICJ merits judgment, or a 2026 Min Aung Hlaing amnesty. She has been detained since 1 February 2021; as of August 2026 she is under house arrest after sentence commutations, not in office. A Nobel lecture is not a clearance-operation order. An ICJ appearance is not a personal genocide conviction. A junta court sentence is not a finding that every charge was true. Allegation of a stolen 2020 count is not stored as a completed steal. A Panglong speech is not a nationwide ceasefire. A Reuters conviction is not a completed finding that the journalists planted evidence. A 2026 ICRC visit is not a release.

Why it matters

The path is democratic resilience: a completed by-election entry records legal opposition inside the 2008 charter.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Aung San Suu Kyi

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.5 · verified

    Voters in Kawhmu chose. UEC declared. She took the MP oath. Thein Sein remained president.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactSuu Kyi wins a 2012 by-election and enters parliament
    2. strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
    3. strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
    Improving path

    impact weight 0.4 · Effect from 1 April 2012 · verified

    A completed opposition entry into parliament is ordinary legal rotation inside a constrained charter.

    • Having a say in government

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.28 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.7)

      Observed

      29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      Two readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).

      20212023

      Above normal = better

    • Clean elections index

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.18 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.

      Above normal = better

    • WJP Rule of Law Index (global)

      via Democratic Resilience

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.18 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.45)

      Observed

      0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      Above normal = better

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Reuters — Suu Kyi wins Myanmar by-electionReuters · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Union Election Commission — 2012 by-elections, KawhmuUnion Election Commission Myanmar · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Union Election Commission Myanmar carries the official instrument or communique. Reuters records the same dated act independently.

Established: a 1 April 2012 Kawhmu win and parliamentary entry, independently reported.

UEC declared. She took the MP oath. Thein Sein remained president.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date. That pair identifies Suu Kyi wins a 2012 by-election and enters parliament, not a later speech about Suu Kyi wins a 2012 by-election and enters parliament.

Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. If a later repeal, stay, or successor instrument exists, it needs its own date and its own row. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to Voters in Kawhmu chose. UEC declared. She took the MP oath. Thein Sein remained president. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorAung San Suu Kyi
  2. contributed toFactSuu Kyi wins a 2012 by-election and enters parliament
  3. strengthensDriverDemocratic Resilience
  4. strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Suu Kyi wins a 2012 by-election and enters parliament. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/mm-suu-byelection-2012

https://factrail.ai/facts/mm-suu-byelection-2012

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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