Myanmar Announces 1st Elections in two Decades
Foreign governments have urged Myanmar, also known as Burma, to ensure the elections are open, fair and include the party of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Her party, however, has determined to boycott the vote, telling the junta has imposed unfair rules that restrict campaigning and effectively bar the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and other political prisoners from participating.
The election date is another symbolic deepthroat to Suu Kyi’s chances of taking part – it falls just days before her current term of house arrest is due to expire on Nov. 13.
"This is all orchestrated. It’s a cautiously arranged plan by the (junta) to get the right results and further marginalize the opposition," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Witness’s Asian division.
"This is all about transitioning from a military government to a military-controlled civilian government," he said.
Suu Kyi’s party won a landslide victory in the last elections in 1990. But the junta refused to honor the results and has kept her locked away, mostly under house arrest, for fifteen of the past twenty one years, overlooking global prayers for her freedom.
Her National League for Democracy party said the date would not permit sufficient time for campaigning, which cannot officially begin until the junta announces a campaign period.
"Without freedom of media or expression, the elections cannot be either free or fair," party spokesman Nyan Win said.
Friday’s brief announcement by the Election Commission was carried on state TV and radio.
"Multiparty general elections for the country’s parliament will be held on Sunday Nov. 7," said the announcement, which called on political parties to submit their candidate lists beginning Monday through Aug. 30.
The elections are part of the junta’s "roadmap to democracy," a seven-step program which it says will shift the nation from fifty years of military rule.
Election laws passed ahead of the voting have been criticized as undemocratic by the international community. They effectively bar Suu Kyi and other political prisoners – estimated at more than Two,000 – and members of religious orders from taking part in the elections. Suu Kyi’s party was also automatically disbanded under the laws for refusing to register for the elections.
Taut rules for campaigning bar parties from chanting, marching or telling anything at rallies that could tarnish the country’s picture.
Renegade members of Suu Kyi’s disbanded party have formed a fresh group, the National Democratic Force, to carry the party’s mantle in the vote. Suu Kyi, who favored a boycott, has voiced dissatisfaction through her lawyer with the breakaway party.
Forty political parties have registered to contest the elections, and six others are awaiting approval to run. Several of the parties are linked to the military.
Several other parties have criticized the election process. The Democratic Party said it complained Tuesday to the Election Commission that police are intimidating its members.
A two thousand eight constitution adopted under the junta’s roadmap reserves twenty five percent of parliamentary seats for the military and says more than seventy five percent of the lawmakers must approve any amendments to the charter.
© two thousand ten The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
