Oct 12, 2010

Electing Military Leaders to Power

Campaigning has begun in Myanmar for November elections, with state television and radio broadcasting the first officially sanctioned party announcements on 25 September.  Aung Suu Kyi and National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won the 1990 general election by a landslide, called on supporters to boycott polls after being effectively blocked from contesting them. Aung San Suu Kyi is officially barred from voting as her name does not appear on the electoral rolls. Myanmar state media also warned the NLD to drop protests against dissolution, and threatened jail for anyone impeding the November vote. 

Many are expecting sham elections in Myanmar with the Union Solidarity and Development Party predicted to win given that the former Prime Minister and an Army general who has just resigned to participate in the elections is leading it and has the support of the military junta as well as the powerful clique of business lobby in the country. What needs to be considered is whether it would be better to have a limited electoral democracy or none at all. For in case there were no elections there would have been no political activity, even to the limited extent that is happening today. This makes it all the more important to hope that current elections will be able to bring some democratic order though it would be regulated by the military junta. This is the difference envisaged by the West and possibly Indian leadership on their views in Myanmar.

OCT 2010