Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi Launches Bid For Parliament

Myanmar democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has registered her candidacy to run for parliament in an upcoming by-election.

A crowd of cheering supporters turned out to see Suu Kyi submit her registration papers on January 18 at a district election office in a suburb of Yangon.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was released in 2010 after spending years under house arrest during the country's military rule.

The April 1 by-election which will fill 48 parliamentary seats is seen as a key test of the reform pledges of Myanmar's government which took office in March.

The military-backed civilian government has initiated a number of reforms, including allowing Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to re-register as a party and releasing political prisoners.

compiled from agency reports