BBC | 29 January 2016
Myanmar's politicians have seen out
the final session of their parliament - and with it the end of decades
of military-only rule - with karaoke and dancing.
A de-mob happy
atmosphere filled the austere building as normally strait-laced
politicians enjoyed the last hours with singing and laughter.
Most are not returning; from Monday they will be replaced by MPs elected in November's historic polls.
Aug San Suu Kyi thanked her opponents for "opening the road" for her party.
"I
believe we can all co-operate for our country and people, whether it is
outside or inside the parliament," the pro-democracy leader said in her
address to parliament.
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Fun is not a word normally associated with the parliament in Nay
Pyi Taw, which until now has been dominated by stern men from military
backgrounds, reports the BBC's Jonah Fisher.
But the last few hours of the parliament's five-year term felt like the last day of school, he says.
MPs
took to the stage to belt out farewell songs; outgoing parliament
speaker Shwe Mann urged the audience to join him as he sang "dreams may
come true", the AFP news agency reports.
From
Monday, Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy will control
parliament, although a quarter of the seats as well as key government
ministries remain in the hands of the military.
One of the new parliament's first jobs will be to choose a president to replace Thein Sein who steps down at the end of March.
Ms
Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest by the army, is
constitutionally barred from standing because her sons are British not
Burmese.
But there is speculation that a deal may have been done with the military to allow her to take the job, our correspondent notes.
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