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Democracy News
Burma Election Boycott
March 29, 2010
By: Paul Larson | Printer Friendly
The authoritarian Burmese (Myanmar) government hints at reform as the opposition party announces they will boycott the first election in 20 years, according to the BBC.
The election is scheduled for the end of this year, but the military will maintain tight controls on how the poll is conducted. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and head of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Aung San Suu Kyim, was disqualified because of the restrictions. People with a criminal record are not allowed to run for office and Ms. Suu Kyi was convicted of violating the terms of her house arrest. She has spent the past 14 of the past 21 years confined to her home.
The NLD would not be able to field any candidates under the electoral law if Ms. Suu Kyi stayed in party leadership. She announced that the party should not contest the election, but added that the NLD will have to decide the issue themselves. The NLD voted not to participate even though the move will remove the party’s legal status.
There has been a mixed response to the election from the international community. The Chinese have called this a “very important step in the process of national reconciliation.” The British have condemned the move and described the upcoming election as falling well short of expectations. A protest was held by approximately 100 Filipinos outside the Burmese embassy on March 19.
The New York Times reports that the new constitution and election, both scheduled for the end of the year, are signs of change even if they are not free or fair. There are also new signs of increased private investment, particularly in the formerly lucrative, now failing, rice industry.
According to the New York Times, the current situation is not a power struggle between democracy activists like Aung San Suu Kyi and the military rulers. The current power struggle is between military elites over who will replace aged Senior General Than Shwe. As of yet, there is no clear successor.
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