Suu Kyi's party faces debacle in by-elections

YANGON, Nov 04 (AFP): The party of Myanmar's embattled head of state Aung San Suu Kyi said Sunday they were defeated in six constituencies in a national by-election, showing uneven support for her government after a string of controversies.
Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) swept to power in 2015 in a landslide victory, ending decades of military rule.
But her tenure has been full of stumbles, most notably with ethnic groups involved in peace talks with the military -- which has been marred by skirmishes and ongoing civil war in states like Kachin and Shan.
The dissatisfaction came through in the results of Saturday's by-election, in which 13 seats in the lower and upper houses of parliament and regional assemblies were up for grabs.
"Currently, we won seven seats and lost in six places," NLD spokesman Dr. Myo Nyunt said.