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

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