ABSTRACT
Suu Kyi risked her credibility in order to convince the generals to amend the constitution and allow her to assume the presidency. Yet she failed to do so. She tried to use her two ace cards once again – popular support and foreign backing – to force the ex-generals to change the Constitution. At the same time, while testing the limits of the political space allotted to her in the early 2010s in Myanmar, Suu Kyi never lost sight of the ultimate goal – the prospect of the 2015 general elections. She placed all her cards on these elections in a poker game-like tactic. The November 2015 general elections were Suu Kyi's to-be-or-not-to-be in politics. If she did not win these elections, she would be marginalized and all her concessions would be in vain. She needed to win, and win decisively. And she did: spectacularly. At the end of the day, the elections proved to be a dual, interconnected plebiscite: a plebiscite on Suu Kyi as a leader and on the military rule.
