BURMESE VOTERS go to the polls for the first time in two decades tomorrow for what has been widely flagged as an “election of generals” aimed at formally transferring the military junta’s rule back to itself.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working in the country describe the election as a sham – a rubber-stamp vote guaranteeing military-backed parties victory and leaving no room for those seeking improved democracy in what is one of the world’s most marginalised countries.
The only ray of hope is that the election could lead to the freedom of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been languishing under house arrest for years.
The general view is that the human rights situation in Burma has become worse as the elections near, with reports of voting irregularities and pressure on voters to cast their poll for the military-backed parties.
The ruling State Peace and Development Council has tightened restrictions, forbidding overseas media to enter Burma during the elections, rejecting all offers of international observers and maintaining tight controls on freedoms of expression, assembly and association.
At this point it looks certain that the winning party will be the USDP, which was formed by prime minister Thein Sein and other cabinet ministers, all senior military officers who resigned from the armed forces in April.
There is a 25 per cent seat quota reserved for serving generals in all chambers. That means either army-backed party needs to win only 26 per cent of the remaining seats for a controlling stake in the country’s national legislature.
The party will field candidates in nearly all of the national- and regional-level seats open for candidates, about 1,158 seats.
“There are not too many people fooled about what these elections mean,” said David Mathieson, senior researcher on Burma in the Asia division of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. “Our concern is that these elections will give the junta a grace period in which they can make things worse.”
The opposition is not in good shape. A few parties with links to the political opposition have formed an alliance, including the National Democratic Force, created by some former members of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, and the Union Democratic Party.
These parties together can only field an inadequate number of candidates.
Sources working for NGOs in Burma, who asked to remain anonymous as they do not wish to compromise their positions, said the poverty in some areas was so bad that there was indifference among the populace as to who gets elected. “They don’t care,” said one overseas NGO worker. “There is not a lot of excitement there. There is a sense of resignation about whoever is in power.”
Speculation that Aung San Suu Kyi might soon be freed by Burma’s junta has mounted, meanwhile, after one of her sons travelled to Bangkok to obtain a visa to see her for the first time in a decade. Kim Aris (33) has repeatedly been denied visas by the Burmese government to see the pro-democracy leader.
