"As Burma?s first election in 20 years approaches, the country?s dictator, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, is busy putting the finishing touches on his plans to renew his regime?s lease on life under a civilian veneer. The Nov. 7 election, part of the junta?s ?road map to disciplined democracy,? will take the country a step closer to permanent military domination, both by putting into effect a Constitution that guarantees 25 percent of the seats in parliament to military appointees and by excluding or marginalizing any credible democratic opposition. Most of the work has been done: The Constitution, more than a decade in the making, was approved in a referendum in 2008, as the country?s most populous region was still reeling from the effects of the worst natural disaster in its recorded history. Even as it was struggling to come to terms with the loss of more than 140,000 lives to Cyclone Nargis, 98 percent of the nation supposedly voted—92 percent in favor of the Constitution—despite very little evidence of a significant turnout at polling stations..."