The Irrawaddy News Magazine [Covering Burma and Southeast Asia]

NEWS IN BRIEF
ELECTION BRIEFLY NOTED

NOVEMBER, 2010 - VOL.18, NO.11

Suu Kyi: Reject ‘Unfair’ Elections

An activist from the Free Burma Coalition Philippines holds up a poster during a protest in front of the Burmese embassy in the Philippines. (Photo: Reuters)

Burma’s detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has advised people to register their discontent at the upcoming elections, which her disbanded party is boycotting as unfair and undemocratic. Suu Kyi’s call, relayed by her lawyer, is the latest in what amounts to a veiled campaign to boycott the Nov. 7 vote. She has carefully avoided asking voters to take any specific action, evidently to avoid prosecution under broadly defined laws. “The people had clearly voiced their aspirations in the 1990 election, but the government has ignored the results. Now is the opportunity for the public to retaliate for what the government had done in 1990,” lawyer Nyan Win quoted Suu Kyi saying.

USDP To Secure Advance Votes

Kyaw Soe, a candidate from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, campaigns in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters)

The USDP has discussed five options for securing advance votes from government staff, soldiers and junta-backed civic organizations to ensure their victory in the upcoming elections, according to a USDP township official. The five options included taking advance votes from adults more than 50 years old and from civil service personnel who support the party. Votes would also be sought from families who live in areas where the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), the forerunner of the USDP, had paved roads. Finally, the order included taking advance votes from families who are members of government-sponsored civic organizations.

‘Anyone but Them’

NDF party members hand out campaign leaflets in Rangoon. (Photo: Getty Images)

The military regime-sponsored 2010 election in Burma is rapidly approaching. However, millions of voters are yet to hear or see any information related to voting, political parties or democracy. Many people in Burma could not tell you which candidates or parties were running in their township. And even those people familiar with the parties say they don’t know who to vote for. “Anyone but them” is a phrase that has been whispered around the streets and neighborhoods of Rangoon in recent days. By “them” people are referring to the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which was founded by former military generals, and whose ubiquitous presence is the most evident—if not the only—sign that an election is looming in Burma.

US Hopes Burma’s New Government an Improvement

The Obama administration hopes a new Burmese government formed after the November election will adopt different methods on human rights and restoration of true democracy. “We will watch events as they unfold in Burma and hope that a new government will take a different approach than it has in the past,” State Department spokesman P J Crowley told reporters at a daily news conference. The administration is gearing up to enter into talks with the new government to be formed after an election, which it and the international community say lacks legitimacy. “We’ve expressed our concerns about the upcoming electoral process, which we do not believe will be free or fair,” Crowley said.

Release of 3,000 Prisoners before Election?

The Burmese junta may release about 3,000 prisoners before the upcoming election on Nov. 7, but human rights advocates are skeptical whether political prisoners will be included. According to Reuters news agency, an official in the correction department said that the military government has plans for an amnesty ahead of the election. The prisoners to be released had sentences that would end in November or December, and it was not clear whether political prisoners would be included in the amnesty. There are about 2,200 political prisoners in Burma.

Junta’s Lack of Engagement Frustrating: Ban

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has again expressed his frustration over the Burmese junta’s lack of democratic engagement, as the country prepares for its first election in 20 years. “It is a source of disappointment that, despite our best efforts, Myanmar [Burma] failed to utilize my good offices and engage meaningfully on issues of mutual interest and concern during the reporting period. This is a regrettable lost opportunity for Myanmar to pursue our shared goals,” Ban said in a report on human rights in Burma. “Myanmar’s lack of engagement is deeply frustrating, as it not only contradicts its stated policy of cooperation with the United Nations but also limits my ability to fully implement the mandate entrusted to me by the General Assembly,” he said.

USDP Campaigner Murdered in Shan State

The junta-backed USDP is concerned about electioneering in northern Shan State following the murder of one of its local members. Local sources in Shan State said a village headman in Nang Lan Township in northern Shan State was killed inside his home shortly after he had been campaigning publicly for the USDP. The sources said he was gunned down by two men who have not been found. Police are questioning a villager who reportedly was stopped by the gunmen and asked for directions to the victim’s house.

EU-Asia Summit Urges Release of Burmese Prisoners

Leaders of 48 Asian and European countries urged Burma’s military junta to release political prisoners before the Nov. 7 election. The leaders attending the biannual Asian-European Union summit, or ASEM, said they “touched upon the issue” of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 15 of the last 21 years, but did not specifically call for her freedom. But a statement concluding the two-day conference said the release of detainees would help the elections be “more inclusive, participatory and transparent.” The statement also urged the government to talk with all parties in a process of national reconciliation, saying a free and fair election would be a step toward “a legitimate, constitutional, civilian system of government.”

New Flag Flying in Burma

Burma’s new four-color flag

A new junta-designed flag is flying across the country for the first time in 36 years since the former ruling Burmese Socialist Programme Party changed the 1947 independence-era flag in 1974. According to sources inside the country, the old flag was replaced at 3 p.m. On Oct.21 in the capital of Naypyidaw, and at 3:33 p.m. at Rangoon’s City Hall, a decision that observers said was made based on advice from astrologers. The new flag will represent the Republic of the Union of Myanmar [Burma] under the junta-backed 2008 Constitution, adding a third flag to the history of the post-colonial Southeast Asian nation.

At UN, Burmese FM Defends ‘Inclusive’ Election

Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win assured the United Nations general assembly that the November election will be free and fair. “With its ample experiences and lessons learnt in holding multiparty general elections in the past, Myanmar [Burma] is confident in its ability to conduct the elections in an orderly manner,” Nyan said in his address to the 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly. “Whatever the challenges facing us, we are committed to do our best for the successful holding of the free and fair general elections for the best interest of the country and its people,” he said.

USDP Vote Buying Begins

The USDP has been buying votes and intimidating voters in collaboration with government authorities in several parts of the country, according to local sources. USDP members are going door to door in townships in Rangoon, Irrawaddy Division and Arakan State, asking people for advanced votes with offers of money and other opportunities in return. Residents in those areas reported the presence of local authorities among the USDP members.

Government Bars Foreign Media and Observers From Polls

The Burmese regime will not allow foreign election observers and international media to monitor the country’s first election in 20 years, said the chief of Burma’s Election Commission (EC). Burma does not need election observers but would invite diplomats and staff from UN agencies based inside the country to witness voting on polling day, said news agencies quoting Thein Soe, chairman of the EC.