Myanmar Holds First Democratic Election in Decades

Myanmar’s most recent election, held on Nov. 8 was seen as the most democratic in the country for the past 25 years. In an interview with the BBC, Aung San Suu Kyi, a key political figure in Myanmar, said the polls were not fair but "largely free." Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), had a winning majority by gaining two-thirds of the contested seats.   Suu Kyi also mentioned in her interview that there had been "areas of intimidation," which refers to the banning of the Rohingya Muslim minority from voting in the election, the lack of transparency in the advance voting process, and inconsistencies in making preliminary results available at the constituency level.

The military-backed Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP) has been in power in Myanmar since 2011 when the country began its transition from decades of military rule to a civilian government. However, the Constitution written by the military junta organization in 2008 is still in effect today. A clause in this document bars Suu Kyi from becoming president due to her children’s foreign citizenship. Yet, Suu Kyi claims that after this election “she will be making all the decisions” regardless of who holds the official title.

The military-drafted constitution guarantees that unelected military representatives will take up 25 percent of the seats in the parliament and will have a veto over constitutional changes. This is what the generals call "disciplined democracy," a system labelled a democracy but in essence still retaining its autocratic roots. In addition, the security ministries including those for defense, home affairs, and border affairs are selected by the head of the army, not the president. Finally, there can be no change to the constitution without military approval. This is similar to former Indonesian and Thai constitutions, which guaranteed a significant portion of power to unelected officials.

One of the themes in the last five years has been the emergence of the parliament as an important political force. It is predicted to become more vocal and assertive after this election, possessing the power to push legislation against the president's wishes. The parliament also has the responsibility to choose the president. Since a significant majority of its members are appointed military elites, this puts into question the legitimacy of the new government. Though the general election happened in November, the position of president will likely not be determined until March 2016, severely affecting the projected level of democracy this election is expected to bring to the country.

The NLD’s landslide victory in the general elections shows that Myanmar’s citizens desire a more democratic government. However, the country’s “democratic status” remains to be seen. Since the military still controls a significant portion of government, combined with the fact that the position of the presidency is still unclear, Myanmar still has a long way to go before claiming status as a true democratic nation.