A Foregone Conclusion
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A Foregone Conclusion

By THE IRRAWADDY OCTOBER, 2010 - VOL.18 NO.10
Members of the National Unity Party attend the party's 22nd anniversary at its head office in Rangoon in September. (Photo: AFP)
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They include Suu Kyi and leaders of the 88 Generation Students movement, who were organizing themselves into a potent force for democracy until the regime crackdown of September 2007.

The overall election picture, then, is of a monolithic force representing continued authoritarian rule facing off against a splintered and seriously weakened opposition force of diverse aims and backgrounds, including ethnic parties and a handful of independent candidates.
Thein Tin Aung, the general-secretary of the United Democratic Party, who predicts that opposition parties will win no more than 150 seats, described the  election in sporting terms in an interview with The Irrawaddy.

“Using an analogy from the Olympics, the USDP and NUP will have to fight for first and second place, for gold and silver,” he said.

The horse racing world also has a term to describe the November election contest—a “walkover,” where the result is a foregone conclusion.

Elected Parliamentary Seats in the New Legislative Bodies

People’s Parliament (Lower House) = 330 seats
Nationalities Parliament (Upper House) = 168 seats
State and Regional* Parliaments = 665 seats (including 29 minority seats)
Total for all Parliaments = 1,163 seats

Distribution of Parliamentary Seats in States and Regions

Kachin State
People’s Parliament = 18 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 40 seats

Sagaing Region
People’s Parliament = 37 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 76 seats

Chin State
People’s Parliament = 9 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 18 seats
Parliament = 18 seats

Magwe (Magway) Region
People’s Parliament = 25 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 51 seats

Mandalay Region
People’s Parliament = 36 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 57 seats

Shan State
People’s Parliament = 55 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 109 seats

Arakan (Rakhine) State
People’s Parliament = 17 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 35 seats

Pegu (Bago) Region
People’s Parliament = 28 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 57 seats

Karen (Kayin) State
People’s Parliament = 7 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 17 seats

Karenni (Kayah) State
People’s Parliament = 7 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 15 seats

Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady) Region
People’s Parliament = 26 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 54 seats

Rangoon (Yangon) Region
People’s Parliament = 45 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 92 seats

Mon State
People’s Parliament = 10 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
State Parliament = 23 seats

Tenasserim (Tanintharyi) Region
People’s Parliament = 10 seats
Nationalities Parliament = 12 seats
Regional Parliament = 21 seats

* Burma’s seven current divisions are designated as regions in the 2008 Constitution.

The lineup of 22 of the 37 parties registered for the Nov.7 election.



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Jeff Wrote:
13/10/2010
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s decision not to vote in the elections is an important development that will hopefully focus the world’s attention on these so-called “elections”. As an activist following the Burma elections for some time, I hope to see more and more governments recognize these elections for what they really are – a sham. I recently read a very interesting article on why the upcoming <a href=" http://www.thailawforum.com/burma-election.html"> Burmese elections </a> in November are likely not only to fail to produce any democratic change, but will only strengthen the military’s grip over the nation. It points out that the military junta has basically set the rules and chosen the players leaving voters little real choice or impact. When the constitution kicks in after the elections, it will be nearly impossible to enact political changes and it will be even harder to dislodge the military from its choke hold on Burma.