"On November 7, 2010, Burma had its first election in two decades. In 1990, the opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Nobel Peace Prize winning activist and recently released political prisoner Aung Sun Suu Kyi, recorded a landslide electoral victory, surprising even the ruling military junta. Unfortunately, the junta, or State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), refused to yield the reigns of power and has continued to control the state through oppressive tactics over the course of the past twenty years. In the runup to the 2010 election, the SPDC repeatedly violated human rights as it worked to ensure its continued dominance over the Burmese state..."