The 2015 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar

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Description: A collection of documents and articles from 2013 on the 2015 elections
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-05
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: From September 2010...Link to the original source at the foot of each article
Source/publisher: Various sources via Burmanet News
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-14
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The Burmese general election of 2015 is scheduled to take place in last week of October or first week of November. It will see voting take place in all the constituencies of Burma (Myanmar) excluding seats appointed by the Military, in order to appoint Members of Assembly to seats in the House of Nationalities, the upper house and House of Representatives, the lower house of the Assembly of the Union..."
Source/publisher: Wikipedia
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-26
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Archive from 2012
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-17
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: About 1500 results
Source/publisher: IPU via Google
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Search for "Myanmar"- about 1800 results (August 2015)
Source/publisher: Inter-Parliamentary Union
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Elections... Parliaments... Political Parties... Government... State/Region.
Source/publisher: Enlightened Myanmar Research (EMR)
Date of entry/update: 2016-06-15
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: http://www.myanmar-now.org/
Source/publisher: Myanmar Now
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-02
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: Myanmar Now
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-02
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: 12,000,000 results (26 May 2015); 2,860,000 results, July 2015.
Source/publisher: Google
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-26
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: About 383,000 results (November, 2015)
Source/publisher: Nikkei Asian Review via Google
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: 11,100 results (17 July, 2015); 15,900 (11 November 2015)
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" via Google
2015-07-17
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-17
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: Archives from 2013.
Source/publisher: Nikkei Asian Review
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Source/publisher: Union Election Commission
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Individual Documents

Sub-title: Just as during the decades-long civil war and recent elections, Myanmar’s ethnic minorities will be pivotal in the post-coup status quo
Description: "The diverse ethnic minorities in Myanmar have a long and often troubled history with the Burmese military that seized power in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, spanning across the bloody civil war, as well as the country’s democratic reforms in the past decade. Ethnic relations and the delicate, changing balances of power between the Bamar majority, the Tatmadaw, the civilian government officials, and amongst themselves have long dictated the reality and prospects of Myanmar’s politics, peace, and prosperity. In this policy paper, Michael Martin, a long-time Myanmar expert, traces the history of ethnic minorities in the 2008 constitution, the three ensuing parliamentary elections, and now the fluid and contentious political environment after the February 1 coup. Martin outlines three potential outcomes for the future of Myanmar, either federal democracy, fragmentation, or military power consolidation—all of whose outcomes intrinsically depend on the complex political and security dynamics of the ethnic minorities dispersed across the country.....About this Series: This paper is part of Stimson’s Civil-Military Relations in Myanmar series, which seeks to analyze the complex relationship between the civilian and military sides of the Burmese government and the implications for the country’s future peace and development. Since the founding of the country, the Burmese military, or Tatmadaw, has held a unique and privileged status across institutions of power. And despite movement toward democracy in the past decade, the relationship between the civilian and military sides remains deeply unsettled. This contest for power and the political, security, and constitutional crises it creates have had far-reaching effects on Myanmar’s political processes, its ongoing civil war, the Rohingya crisis, and regional peace and stability—a reality most recently and poignantly seen in the 2021 coup d’état staged by the Tatmadaw against the civilian government. The series brings together the expertise of leading experts on Myanmar, Southeast Asia, democratization, and policy to uncover the complex dynamics between the two sides. The series provides key insights and recommendations for disentangling the contentious relationship and charting a path forward for relevant stakeholders in Myanmar. More than three months have passed since Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and the Tatmadaw staged their palace coup in Myanmar (Burma), setting up a new military junta entitled the State Administrative Council (SAC). The actions of the nation’s ethnic minorities1 and their associated ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) will be critical if Min Aung Hlaing and the SAC are to be defeated, either by political or military means. The failure to secure the support of the ethnic minorities and their EAOs could either doom the people of Myanmar to many more years of oppressive military rule or lead to the fragmentation of the nation into several smaller sovereign states. To properly appreciate the importance of Myanmar’s ethnic minorities and their EAOs to the nation’s future requires an examination of the country’s political developments since 2010, Min Aung Hlaing’s decision to depose the civilian side of the hybrid civilian-military Union Government, and the role of the ethnic minorities and their EAOs in determining Myanmar’s future. However, in order to understand why the ethnic minorities and the EAOs are so critical to Myanmar’s future, it is necessary to first examine the Tatmadaw’s original plan for the political transition of Myanmar into a “flourishing and disciplined democracy.”2.....The Tatmadaw’s Plan for Myanmar’s Political Transition: On August 30, 2003, Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt announced that Myanmar’s military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), would undertake a “seven-point roadmap for democracy.” 3 The roadmap called for the reconvening of a constitutional convention that was suspended in 1996, the drafting of a new constitution for the nation, the adoption of the constitution in a national referendum, the holding of nationwide parliamentary elections, and the transfer of power from the SPDC to the new government.4..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Stimson Center
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 251.04 KB (18 pages)
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Description: "In the wake of the Cold War authoritarian regimes around the world adapted to the new political climate by embracing the form – though not necessarily the substance – of democracy. The outcome has been an increase in electoral authoritarian regimes, in which political positions are filled through multiparty elections. The defining feature of these regimes is that they hold regular elections that are not entirely free, fair, and competitive. On the contrary, the playing field under these regime is often tilted in favor of the ruling party (Schedler 2002b:3). These “hybrid regimes” defy simple classifications, challenge existing theories of democratization, and call into doubt some of the basic premises of the classic transition paradigm, which primarily revolves around elite-level bargaining (O’Donnell and Schmitter 1986). The global rise of these regimes has triggered a wave of scholarship interested in explaining how such regimes fully democratize, how ruling parties are defeated at the ballot box (Levitsky and Way 2002; Bunce and Wolchik 2010), and whether the repeated holding of elections leads to further democratization (Staffan 2006; 2009). The central puzzle revolves around the following key questions: Why do elections serve to stabilize certain electoral authoritarian regimes yet undermine others? How do they matter? And how do elections stabilize or liberalize political regimes? This article contributes to this ongoing debate by exploring the case of Myanmar. As a case study, Myanmar helps us to identify further contextual factors and broaden our existing knowledge on electoral authoritarianism. Up till now, the fate of electoral authoritarian regimes has primarily been discussed with the help of statistical analysis and probability tests. Additionally, certain paradigmatic cases such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Mexico have been highlighted. By using the case of Myanmar, I am following Morse's lead of employing case studies to add more analytical leverage for theory building (Morse 2012). Myanmar’s long- standing military regime has seen impressive political changes since it held its first elections in 2010 after 22 years of direct military rule..."
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Source/publisher: Southeast Asia Research Centre (Hong Kong)
2016-05-00
Date of entry/update: 2020-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 429.24 KB (36 pages)
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "On Nov. 8, 2015, Myanmar held the first general election under the 2008 Constitution in which all main political parties, including those that boycotted the election in 2010, chose to participate. The Carter Center observed the election process for over one year, from December 2014 through March 2016. Based on its in-depth observation, The Carter Center reaffirms its congratulations to the people of Myanmar, who exercised their political rights with pride and enthusiasm. Their empowerment and commitment to the democratic process was not only remarkable but crucial to counterbalancing the considerable structural impediments to fully democratic elections. Despite flaws observed, the post-election period confirms the Carter Center?s view that Myanmar appears to be on a positive trajectory toward a peaceful, democratic transition as a result of these elections. To maintain this trajectory, it is important for all actors to engage in a dialogue and consensus-seeking process to identify constructive steps toward lasting peace and national reconciliation. The Carter Center encourages the government, parliament, electoral authorities, and civil society of Myanmar to prioritize political and electoral reform based on internationally accepted democratic standards and offers its continued support for reform..."
Source/publisher: Carter Center
2016-08-16
Date of entry/update: 2016-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 558.64 KB
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Description: "During Myanmar?s historic 2015 election, the only consistently available and reliable source of candidate information was via online mobile apps, and every one of those apps was powered by The Asia Foundation?s Mae Pay Soh (?Let?s Vote”) voter information database."
Source/publisher: Asia Foundation
2016-08-01
Date of entry/update: 2016-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 651.01 KB
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Description: Key Points: "• The victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the 2015 elections was a resounding mandate for democratic change after decades of military-dominated government. • The scale of the victory in ethnic nationality communities across the country highlighted the hopes of all Myanmar?s peoples for the NLD to help achieve a new era of peace and democracy. Both domestic and international expectations are now high, and the incoming government will enjoy initial goodwill. • Formidable challenges remain in key aspects of social and political life. These include transition from military-backed government, political reform and the agreement of a nationwide ceasefire that includes all groups and regions of the country. • Despite the NLD?s success, concerns remain among different nationalities that, unless the NLD pioneers a political breakthrough, conflict and the marginalisation of minority peoples will continue. The perception is widespread that the present structures of national politics and Myanmar?s ?first-past-the-post” electoral system do not guarantee the equitable representation of all nationality groups. • In the coming months, the successful transition to a new era of democratic governance and the agreement of an inclusive nationwide ceasefire could provide the best opportunity for ethnic peace and deep-rooted reform in many decades. It is vital that the different sides work cooperatively together rather than seek self- advantage. "
Source/publisher: Transnational Institute (TNI) - Myanmar Policy Briefing, December 2015
2015-12-21
Date of entry/update: 2016-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 260.07 KB 272.8 KB
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Description: "This Situation Update describes events occurring in Bilin Township, Thaton District in October 2015, including updates on the 2015 general election, education, and development projects. - Villages under the administration of the Burma/Myanmar government are able to vote in the 2015 general election. However, villages located in Karen National Union (KNU) controlled areas have not been adequately informed ahead of the election. - Local Karen teachers selected to teach in villages have had to resign after Burma/Myanmar government teachers were sent to teach in Bilin Township, sparking concerns that Karen language education will be given less attention and taught outside of school hours. - Heavy rain and floods damaged paddies, and, combined with an increase in the paddy price, caused livelihood concerns among some villagers. - The main roads that have been under construction in Bilin Township since 2013 will be completed during 2016. Although useful for the villagers, the road construction has caused problems for some villagers whose lands have been damaged..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
2016-02-25
Date of entry/update: 2016-04-10
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 501.81 KB
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Description: "This commentary highlights the experiences of villagers in southeast Burma/Myanmar during the 2015 general elections, as well as their perspectives on the electoral process as a whole and expectations from the incoming Government of the Union of Myanmar. Based on 21 interviews conducted with villagers shortly following the elections, KHRG considers the extent to which the 2015 poll can be deemed ?free and fair,” by evaluating the transparency, inclusivity, and credibility of the electoral process as it unfolded in KHRG?s research areas in southeast Burma/Myanmar. KHRG notes that while the election was deemed as fairly transparent at the polls, questionable campaign practices in the lead-up to the election marred villagers? experiences of this landmark in the country?s reform. In addition, serious concerns regarding the inclusivity of this election emerge from villager testimonies, including many instances of disenfranchisement of eligible voters due to negligence on the part of electoral staff, misinformation and lack of voter education, as well as ethnic discrimination against Muslim and Gurkha residents. Additional large-scale exclusion from the polls took place in Karen National Union (KNU) and mixed-control areas of southeast Burma/Myanmar, where many polling stations were removed by the Union Election Commission shortly prior to Election Day due to perceived security concerns, which villagers said did not correspond to the conditions on the ground. These experiences have left some villagers disillusioned, not only with the election itself, but with the democratic transition as a whole. Villagers call on the incoming government to engage with them and address their specific concerns, including transitioning into a fully civilian government, working towards justice and lasting peace in Karen ethnic regions, and developing their communities in terms of education, healthcare and infrastructure."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
2016-02-23
Date of entry/update: 2016-02-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 263.33 KB 393.69 KB
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Description: "Trois mois après les élections, et avant le transfert effectif du pouvoir, Info Birmanie publie une brève analyse intitulée « Que retenir des élections législatives de novembre 2015 en Birmanie ?». Celle-ci revient sur le processus électoral birman : la campagne, le jour des élections, les irrégularités constatées, les réactions nationales et internationales, les résultats et l?échiquier post électoral. Sur les 10 élections générales organisées en Birmanie depuis l?Indépendance du pays, aucune n?a été aussi libre que les élections de 2015. Malgré les craintes du peuple birman et des analystes politiques, le scrutin n?a pas été marqué par des irrégularités faussant le processus électoral dans sa globalité. Le parti d?Aung San Suu Kyi a remporté une victoire écrasante marquant pour la Birmanie un tournant historique qui n?aurait pas été imaginable 5 ans auparavant. Pour en savoir plus, lire notre analyse ..."
Source/publisher: Info Birmanie
2016-02-22
Date of entry/update: 2016-02-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Francais, French
Format : pdf
Size: 917.87 KB
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Description: "On November 8, 2015, millions of voters across Burma went to the polls. Citizens seized the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the freest election the country had seen for at least 25 years. In many ways this was an astonishing moment for democracy in Burma. However, as international media coverage praised largely successful election processes and excitement abounded at the poll?s outcome, relatively few column inches were dedicated to those left behind as this historic event took place. In Burma 2015: Ballot Denied the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) aims to elevate the voices of disenfranchised Mon and Karen ethnic citizens in non-state armed group (NSAG) controlled areas of Kyar Inn Seik Gyi Township, Karen State. Drawing on 60 interviews conducted in October 2015, HURFOM documents the voices of some of the tens of thousands of citizens in Kyar Inn Seik Gyi Township disenfranchised during this year?s election. In the aftermath of the election, it is important that enthusiasm concerning its outcome does not diminish the significance of these complaints. This report aims to show that concerns over disenfranchisement embody clear violations of citizens? rights, represent political exclusion of already marginalised populations and constitute clear infractions of international good practices for democratic elections..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Foundation of Monland - Burma (HURFOM)
2015-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.98 MB
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Description: Sonderseiten in der Tageszeitung taz vom 18.12.2015. .....Die am 8. November 2015 abgehaltenen Parlamentswahlen auf nationaler und regionaler Ebene, aus denen die Oppositions-partei National League for Democracy (NLD) als Siegerin hervorging, wurden bereits im Vorlauf als die ersten freien und fairen Wah-len seit 1990 beworben. Damals errang die NLD unter der Führung von Aung San Suu Kyi einen Erdrutschsieg, der vom Militär jedoch nie anerkannt wurde. Dieses Mal räumte die Regierungspartei Union Solidarity and Deve-lopment Party (USDP), die unter dem ehemali-gen Militärregime als größte Massenorganisa-tion agierte, ihre Niederlage ein..."
Source/publisher: Burma & Burma-Initiative (Stiftung Asienhaus)
2015-12-18
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Deutsch, German
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Description: Overview: "The 8 November elections were a major waypoint in Myanmar?s transition from authoritarian rule. Holding a peaceful, orderly vote in a context of little experience of electoral democracy, deep political fissures and ongoing armed conflict in several areas was a major achievement for all political actors, the election commission and the country as a whole. The victorious National League for Democracy (NLD) needs to use the four-month transitional period before it takes power at the end of March 2016 wisely, identifying key appointees early so that they have as much time as possible to prepare for the substantial challenges ahead. Its landslide victory, with almost 80 per cent of the elected seats, means Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi?s party will have an outright majority in both legislative chambers, even after the 25 per cent of unelected seats held by the armed forces is taken into account. This will give it control of law-making and the power to choose the president ? a position that the constitution bars Suu Kyi from taking herself. The incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) suffered a crushing defeat, as did most parties representing minority ethnic groups. The vote represents a huge popular mandate for Aung San Suu Kyi and comes with equally high expectations that she and the NLD will deliver the needed political and economic changes. It will not be easy to meet those expectations. First, Suu Kyi will have to build a constructive working relationship with Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing. The military retains considerable executive power, with control of the defence, home affairs and border affairs ministries. Success in everything from the peace process to police reform and further political liberalisation will depend on the cooperation of the armed forces. With longstanding mutual suspicions, that relationship could easily get off to a bad start, particularly if Suu Kyi chooses a proxy president without the credibility and stature required for the top job, as she has suggested she would. Beyond this, the NLD will want to demonstrate that it can meet the expectations of the people by bringing tangible changes to their lives. It can tap into enormous domestic and international goodwill and support, but its limited experience of government, a shallow pool of skilled technocrats and the difficulty of reforming key institutions all constrain how much can be achieved quickly. This is particularly important given that the party has done very little policy development work to date. It also may prove difficult for the new administration to focus on producing positive changes, given the range of problems the country faces, any of which have the potential to spawn crises. Serious armed clashes continue in Shan and Kachin states, threatening to undermine a fragile peace process. There are signs of macro-economic turbulence, with weak policy tools available to mitigate it. And the situation in Rakhine state, where most Muslim Rohingya were disenfranchised, is intractable and potentially volatile; any moves the NLD government makes on this issue will come under particular nationalist scrutiny. There will also be international relations challenges. Suu Kyi and the NLD will need deft diplomatic skills to steer Myanmar?s continuing re-engagement with the West, while maintaining good relations with a more assertive China concerned that its interests are being harmed. They will have to be particularly adroit, given perceptions that they have an inherent pro-Western bias. Western countries must do their part to help make this rebalancing succeed. They have an important role to play in supporting positive change in Myanmar but need to be cognizant of domestic and regional sensitivities involved."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (Asia Briefing N°147)
2015-12-09
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf pdf
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Description: ခြုံငုံသုံးသပ်ချက် ... နိုဝင်ဘာ ၈ ရက် ရွေးကောက်ပွဲများသည် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ အာဏာရှင်စနစ်မှ အသွင်ကူးပြောင်းမှု တွင် အဓိကမှတ်တိုင်တစ်ခုဖြစ်သည်။ ဒီမိုကရေစီရွေးကောက်ပွဲ အတွေ့အကြုံနည်းပါးခြင်း၊ နိုင် ငံရေးအကွဲအပြဲနက်ရှိုင်းခြင်း၊ နေရာများစွာတွင် လက်နက်ကိုင်ပဋိပက္ခဖြစ်ပွါးနေခြင်း စသော အခြေအနေတွင် ငြိမ်းချမ်း၍ စနစ်ကျသော ရွေးကောက်ပွဲကို ကျင်းပနိုင်ခြင်းသည် နိုင်ငံရေးတွင် အဓိကပါဝင်နေသူအားလုံး၊ ရွေးကောက်ပွဲကော်မရှင်နှင့် တစ်နိုင်ငံလုံးအတွက် အဓိကအောင် မြင်မှုဖြစ်သည်။ အောင်ပွဲရ အမျိုးသားဒီမိုကရေစီအဖွဲ့ချုပ် (NLD) သည် ၂၀၁၆ မတ်လကုန်တွင် အာဏာလွှဲပြောင်းမယူမှီ ကြားကာလလေးလကို ပါးပါးနပ်နပ်အသုံးချရန်လိုအပ်ပြီး အရေးကြီး တာဝန်ပေးမည့်သူများကို စောစီးစွာသတ်မှတ်ဖေါ်ထုတ်နိုင်ခဲ့လျှင် ရှေ့တွင်ကြိုနေသည့် ကြီးမား သော စိမ်ခေါ်မှုများအတွက် ပြင်ဆင်ရန် ဖြစ်နိုင်သမျှအချိန်များများ ရရှိပေမည်။ ရွေးကောက်ခံနေရာ ၈၀ ရာခိုင်နှုန်းဖြင့် သောင်ပြိုကမ်းပြိုအနိုင်ရခြင်းသည် လွှတ်တော်နှစ် ရပ်စလုံးတွင် တပ်မတော်က ၂၅ ရာခိုင်နှုန်း ရယူထားသည့်တိုင်အောင် ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည် ၏ပါတီက နေရာအများစုရရှိမည့်သဘောဖြစ်သည်။ ဤအခြေအနေသည် သမ္မတရွေးချယ်ခွင့် အာဏာနှင့် ဥပဒေပြုမှုအပေါ် ထိန်းချုပ်ခွင့်တို့ကို ရရှိစေမည်ဖြစ်သည်။ သမ္မတရွေးချယ်ခွင့် အ တွက်မူ အခြေခံဥပဒေက ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်အား သမ္မတမဖြစ်နိုင်အောင်တားဆီးထား သည်။ လက်ရှိအာဏာရ ပြည်ခိုင်ဖြိုးပါတီ (USDP) သည် တိုင်းရင်းသားလူမျိုးစု ကိုယ်စားပြု အခြားပါတီများကဲ့သို့ပင် အလဲထိုးခံရှုံးပွဲကို ခံစားသွားရသည်။ ရွေးကောက်ပွဲသည် ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်အတွက် ကြီးကြီးမားမားရေပန်းစားသော အခွင့်အာဏာအပ်နှင်းခြင်းကို ထင်ဟပ်ကာ ၎င်းနှင့်အတူ သူနှင့် NLD သည် တိုင်းပြည်တွင် လိုအပ်နေသော နိုင်ငံရေးနှင့် စီးပွါးရေးပြောင်းလဲမှုများကို ဖေါ်ဆောင်လိမ့်မည်ဟူသော ဆတူ မျှော်လင့်ချက်များစွာဖြင့် ပေါ်ထွက်လာခဲ့သည်။ ၎င်းမျှော်လင့်ချက်များပြည့်မှီရန် မလွယ်ကူ လှပါ။ ပထမဦးစွာ ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်သည် တပ်မတော်ကာကွယ်ရေးဦးစီးချုပ် ဗိုလ်ချုပ် မှူးကြီးမင်းအောင်လှိုင်နှင့် အပြုသဘောပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်သည့် ဆက်ဆံရေးကို ထူထောင် ရန် လိုအပ်ပေလိမ့်မည်။ တပ်မတော်သည် ကာကွယ်ရေး၊ ပြည်ထဲရေး၊ နယ်စပ်ရေးရာ ဝန်ကြီး ဌာနများကို ထိန်းချုပ်ထားခြင်းဖြင့် များပြားသော အုပ်ချုပ်ရေးအာဏာကို ရယူထားဆဲဖြစ် သည်။ ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေးလုပ်ငန်းစဉ်မှသည် ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့ပြုပြင်ပြောင်းလဲရေးနှင့် နိုင်ငံရေးဖြေလျှော့ မှုများအထိ အရာရာအောင်မြင်မှုရရှိရေးသည် တပ်မတော်၏ ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်မှုအပေါ် မူ တည်လျက်ရှိသည်။ အကယ်၍ ဒေါ်အောင်ဆန်းစုကြည်က သူလုပ်မည်ဟု ပြောထားသည့် အ တိုင်း ထိပ်တန်းရာထူးအတွက်လိုအပ်သော သိက္ခာနှင့် အများလေးစားသူကို ကိုယ်စားသမ္မတ အဖြစ် မရွေးချယ်နိုင်ခဲ့ပါက ကာလရှည်ကြာ အပြန်အလှန် သံသယကြီးခဲ့သော ဆက်ဆံရေး သည် မလှပသော စတင်မှုအဖြစ် အလွယ်တကူ ထွက်ပေါ်လာနိုင်သည်။ ထို့အပြင် NLD အနေနှင့် ပြည်သူတို့၏ဘဝများ သိသိသာသာပြောင်းလဲအောင် ဆောင် ကြဉ်းပေးခြင်းဖြင့် ပြည်သူတို့၏ မျှော်လင့်ချက်များကို ဖြည့်ပေးနိုင်ကြောင်း ပြသလိုပေလိမ့်မည်။ ပြည်တွင်းပြည်ပအားပေးမှုနှင့် ပံ့ပိုးမှုမြောက်များစွာကို ရယူနိုင်မည်ဖြစ်သော်လည်း စီမံအုပ်ချုပ်မှု အတွေ့အကြုံနည်းခြင်း၊ ကျွမ်းကျင်သော ပညာရှင်စုဖွဲ့မှုနည်းခြင်း၊ သော့ချက်ကျသော အင်စတီ ကျူးရှင်းများကို ပြုပြင်ပြောင်းလဲရာတွင် ခက်ခဲခြင်း စသည်တို့အားလုံးက မြန်မြန်ဆန်ဆန် အောင် မြင်မှုရနိုင်မည့်အရေးကို ဟန့်တား
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (Asia Briefing N°147)
2015-12-09
Date of entry/update: 2016-01-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: "...In the coming months, ...citizens across the country are hoping that the NLD, with its countrywide mandate, is able to make a truly new beginning in initiating political, ethnic and institutional reform to bring the country together after decades of internal conflict, economic malaise and military rule. Popular momentum presently lies on the NLD side, and ethnic peace and justice are at the centre of its goals for national reform. But given Myanmar?s troubled history, uncertain and difficult times undoubtedly lie ahead"
Source/publisher: Transnational Institute (TNI)
2015-12-04
Date of entry/update: 2015-12-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Results announced on 13 November confirmed the overwhelming victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in the 8 November elections, which decided 75% of seats in Burma/Myanmar?s National and Regional Parliaments. While the military will retain its allotted 25% of parliamentary seats, the NLD now holds an overall majority in the National Parliament, giving it the power to form Burma/Myanmar?s next government and select a President. As results are finalized, the next steps for both Aung San Suu Kyi?s NLD and the country?s ruling military will take shape, while a final session of the current Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) dominated National Parliament will convene on 16 November. While the NLD will now be able to form a government, Burma?s military will retain its grip on power in key areas. This briefer summarizes post-election issues, including; the presidential selection process; the military power preserved in the 2008 Constitution; Aung San Suu Kyi?s call for "reconciliation talks" with President Thein Sein, Commander-in-Chief Sr Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Parliamentary Speaker Shwe Mann; and the final parliamentary session for sitting MPs. "
Source/publisher: ALTSEAN-Burma
2015-11-13
Date of entry/update: 2015-12-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Creator/author: Richard Horsey
Source/publisher: "Nikkei Asian Review" via International Crisis Group
2015-11-17
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 42.51 KB
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Description: "On this week?s edition of Dateline, the panel discusses the NLD?s landslide victory and what to expect from the weeks to come: Aung Moe Zaw: First of all, everyone should congratulate the people. They have clearly shown their desire for democracy. Personally, I expect that the current government and the military will seriously acknowledge and respect this desire. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has clearly said that her party would form a government of national reconciliation for the country to move forward. Under the 2008 Constitution, a new government is likely to be a coalition. If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself or her party, the NLD, can work together with ethnic parties like the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy [SNLD] or the Arakan National Party [ANP], a government of national reconciliation can surely be formed, as she said. Whether this is done largely depends on the military. As the leader of the winning party, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should firstly take steps toward holding talks with the current president and the military.....Yan Myo Thein: Regarding the election, there was a problem of advance votes in some places. Besides that, generally, the election was free and fair across the country. I think Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD should officially release a statement and say that they are grateful to the people and acknowledge their support for the party. At the same time, democratic forces need to take a practical approach and figure out how they can cooperate with the government and the military to smooth the democratization process in Myanmar, I think. There are certain things that are different from the post-election period in 1990. The major difference is that in the 1990 election, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest. But at present, she is an elected lawmaker and the chairwoman of the NLD. Again, some people believed that because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?s NLD demanded a dialogue to transfer power, the military government at that time refused to hold such a dialogue. But the truth is that the NLD back then demanded an all-inclusive dialogue, and the dialogue was not actually intended to demand a transfer of power. The military leaders at that time were completely unwilling to have dialogue, and that?s why they rejected it..."
Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy"
2015-11-13
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 56 reports on 2015 Burma election.
Source/publisher: "Burma Partnership"
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "(Yangon, 10 November 2015) From 2-10 November 2015, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), together with its Thai member, the People?s Empowerment Foundation (PEF) conducted an election observation mission in Yangon, Burma/Myanmar. The objective was to observe the final week of before the historic elections of 8 November 2015. First of all, FORUM-ASIA congratulates the people of Burma/Myanmar on holding the first freest elections in their country?s history. It reaffirms the commitment to political reform. We hope the elections will contribute to a more democratic, peaceful and prosperous future for the people of the country. However, although the electoral process was the freest and fairest in Burma/Myanmar?s history, the FORUM-ASIA still observed several problems that are reason for concern. The following update presents an overview of the preliminary findings of the mission. A full-report will follow shortly..."
Source/publisher: Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development via Burma Partnership
2015-11-12
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "The cold hard reality is that Sunday was just the beginning of the next round of political competition. Once the votes are in, the heavy business of negotiation and repositioning will rumble forward...What it all means is that from today onward there will be no point in expecting everything to flow smoothly. Not only is that unrealistic, but it may not even provide an outcome in the best interests of the Myanmar people. The fact that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has sat at the same table as Thura U Shwe Mann and U Khin Aung Myint on so many occasions over these recent years needs our attention. She will have to draw on all that experience of dealing with military men if politics in the months ahead is going to work in her favour."
Creator/author: Nicholas Farrelly
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2015-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Myanmar?s election have successfully taken place without a major hitch let alone violence and conflict ? a remarkable achievement considering the country?s protracted civil war and decades of political confrontation. The resounding victory for the opposition National League for Democracy represents a clear expression of the enormous popular support for the NLD and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Not only was the outcome to the satisfaction of most people, inside and outside the country, but the processes were also deemed by most of the 11,000 or more election monitors, to have been ?free and fair” and credible. With more than 30 million voters, the 2015 election was a major undertaking by any measure. Its success means that the years of efforts and dedication by parties, candidates, support staff and the media have been vindicated, and the result is a new government with its legitimacy confirmed, unlike the outcome of the flawed and fraudulent 2010 elections. Before the elections, many problems with voter registration lists were discovered. A number of complaints about voting procedures on polling day have been lodged with Myanmar?s Election Commission, but it is doubtful that any errors would have made much difference to the results..."
Creator/author: Trevor Wilson
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2015-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Ahead of Myanmar?s historic election, we meet activists refusing to buckle under a campaign of harassment and arrest...Standing by her husband?s grave, Ma Thanda is looking for answers. It has been one year since her spouse, a journalist and activist, disappeared while in military custody. Meanwhile, Po Po, a student protest organiser, is still reeling from one of Myanmar?s bloodiest crackdowns in years. After attacking her fellow demonstrators in March, police filed dubious charges that could land her in prison for nine years. Myanmar is set to hold what is could be the country?s first legitimate election in half a decade. But government hardliners are waging their own hidden campaign to silence dissidents. And the law is on their side. 101 East meets activists being harassed, arrested and imprisoned in plain sight, setting back Myanmar?s march toward democratic freedom..."
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera (101 East)
2015-11-05
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: 784 results (November 2015)...Search by either relevance or date.
Source/publisher: CNN
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "၁။ ၂၀၁၅ ခုနှဈ ၊ နိုဝငျဘာ ၈ ရကျနေ တှငျ မွနျမာနိုငျငံတဈဝှမျးလုံး ပါတီစုံ ဒီမိုကရစေီ အထှထှေေ ရှေးကောကျပှဲကို တညျငွိမျ အေးခမြျး အောငျမွငျစှာ ကငြျးပနိုငျခဲ့ပါသညျ။ ထိုသို့အောငျမွငျစှာ ကငြျးပနိုငျရေးအတှကျ နိုငျငံသားတာဝနျ ကြပှေနျစှာ ပါဝငျမဲပေးခဲ့ကွသော တိုငျးရငျးသား မိဘပွညျသူမြားအားလုံး၊ အောငျမွငျသော ရှေးကောကျပှဲမြား ကငြျးပနိုငျရနျ တာဝနျဆောငျရှကျခဲ့ကွသော ပွညျထောငျစုရှေးကောကျပှဲကောျမရှငျနှင့ျ အဆင့ျဆင့ျသော ကောျမရှငျမြား၊ ရှေးကောကျပှဲမြား အောငျမွငျစှာ ကငြျးပနိုငျရေး တတျနိုငျမြှ ပံ့ပိုးကူညီဆောငျရှကျခဲ့ကွသော တပျမတောျ တပျရငျးတပျဖှဲ့မြား၊ ဌာနဆိုငျရာမြား၊ လုံခွုံရေးတပျဖှဲ့ဝငျမြား၊ မဲရုံတာဝနျထမျးဆောငျခဲ့ကွသော ဝနျထမျးမြား၊ ရှေးကောကျပှဲအထူးရဲမြား၊ လေ့လာစောင့ျကွညျမှုမြား ဆောငျရှကျခဲ့ကွသော ပွညျတှငျး၊ ပွညျပ အဖှဲ့အစညျးမြား၊ ဂုဏျသိက်ခာ ရှိရှိ ပါဝငျယှဉျပွိုငျခဲ့ကွသော နိုငျငံရေးပါတီမြားနှင့ျ ကိုယျစားလှယျလောငျးမြား အားလုံးကို နိုငျငံတောျနှင့ျ နိုငျငံသားမြား ကိုယျစား ကြေးဇူး ဥပကာရ အထူးပငျ တငျရှိပါသညျ။ ၂။ လကျရှိအခြိနျအထိ ပွညျထောငျစု ရှေးကောကျပှဲ ကောျမရှငျက ထုတျပွနျခဲ့သည့ျ ရလဒျမြားအရ အမြိုးသား ဒီမိုကရစေီ အဖှဲ့ခြုပျပါတီက လှှတျတောျ နရော အမြားစုဖွင့ျ ဦးဆောငျနသေဖွင့ျ ပွညျသူလူထု၏ ထောကျခံမှုကို ရရှိစရေနျ စှမျးဆောငျခဲ့သော ပါတီဥက်ကဌ ဒေါျအောငျဆနျးစုကွညျနှင့ျ အမြိုးသားဒီမိုကရစေီအဖှဲ့ခြုပျပါတီ၏ အောငျမွငျမှုကို လှိုကျလှဲဝမျးမွောကျစှာ ခြီးကြူးဂုဏျပွုအပျပါသညျ။ ၃။ နိုငျငံတောျ အစိုးရအနဖွေင့ျ မဲဆန်ဒရှငျ တိုငျးရငျးသား ပွညျသူမြား၏ ရှေးခယြျမှုနှင့ျ အဆုံးအဖွတျကို လေးစားလိုကျနာပွီး သတျမှတျအခြိနျမြား အတိုငျး အေးခမြျး တညျငွိမျစှာ လှှဲပွောငျးနိုငျရေးကို ဆောငျရှကျသှားမညျ ဖွဈပါသညျ။ ၄။ ဒေါျအောငျဆနျးစုကွညျ အဆိုပွုသည့ျ တှေ့ဆုံ ဆှေးနှေးရေးနှင့ျ ပတျသကျပွီး ပွညျထောငျစု ရှေးကောကျပှဲ ကောျမရှငျ၏ ရှေးကောကျပှဲ လုပျငနျးမြား ပွီးဆုံးခြိနျတှငျ နှဈဘကျ ညှိနှိုငျး ဆောငျရှကျမညျ ဖွဈပါသညျ။ ၅။ ရှေးကောကျပှဲအလှနျ ကွားကာလ တညျငွိမျ အေးခမြျးမှု ရှိစရေနျ အတှကျ အားလုံး ပူးပေါငျး ဆောငျရှကျသှားမညျ ဖွဈပါကွောငျး သိရှိနိုငျပါရနျ ထုတျပွနျအပျပါသညျ။"
Source/publisher: President Office Website
2015-11-11
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: "In this real moment of excitement, EMR would like to share the "နိုင်ငံရေးပါတီမဟာမိတ်အဖွဲ့များအပေါ် လေ့လာ သုံးသပ်မှုစာတမ်း" (The Analysis Report of the Study on Myanmar Political Party Alliances"). The report is available only in Myanmar language. We intended mainly for the CSOs, the people of Myanmar and the political parties, believing that reliable information will enhance citizen?s awareness and interest in participating political process and performing civic duties. We hope that this study can make valuable contributions in the democratic transition and the emergence of a true federalism in Myanmar. ".....Unfortunately, we cannot share the report through EMR?s website as it was hacked recently..."
Source/publisher: Enlightened Myanmar Research (EMR)
2015-11-07
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf
Size: 877.08 KB
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Description: Introduction: "Elections due on 8th November are obviously significant, but they are unlikely to be the major turning point in a transition to democracy that many hope for or have talked them up to be. Rather, they will be another step in the military?s carefully planned transition from direct military rule and pariah status to a hybrid military and civilian government which is accepted by the international community and sections of Burmese society. Burma?s 2008 Constitution is designed to present the appearance of democracy, while maintaining ultimate military control. It is also specifically designed for the eventuality of the National League for Democracy (NLD) winning elections and forming a government, without this being a threat to military control. They were not prepared, however, to risk having Aung San Suu Kyi, the most popular and influential politician in Burma, head that government. Clauses were put in the Constitution to prevent this. A government which is predominantly made up of genuine civilians, which is largely, if indirectly, chosen by citizens, and which has some level of accountability to its citizens, will be an improvement over direct military rule or a military backed government packed full of former generals. But even if the NLD does win the election and forms a government, the Constitution ensures it will be severely hamstrung, and unable to deliver fundamental democratic reforms which reduce the control of the military over every level of Burmese politics and the economy..."
Source/publisher: Burma Campaign, UK
2015-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Early results point to a sweeping victory for her National League for Democracy (NLD), but final official results will not be known for days. The election was seen as the most democratic in Myanmar for 25 years. In an interview with the BBC?s Fergal Keane, Ms Suu Kyi said the polls were not fair but "largely free". She said there had been "areas of intimidation". A quarter of Myanmar?s 664 parliamentary seats are set aside for the army, and for the NLD to have the winning majority it will need at least two-thirds of the contested seats. But Ms Suu Kyi told the BBC that her party has surpassed that, and has won around 75%. 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..."
Source/publisher: BBC
2015-11-10
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...After half a century of brutal military rule, Myanmar is undergoing an impressive transition to democracy. But with ongoing political arrests and ethnic tensions, the country is anxious not to veer off course...."We dared not speak up in the past. Now we dare to because we have been given the right", says a protester campaigning against land grabs in south-east Yangon. Relaxed censorship has translated into a boom in newspaper readership, comedians free to criticise the government and even a saucy girl band fighting gender stereotypes. But while hundreds of political prisoners have been released, protesters who fail to secure a protest permit face years in prisons. With Aung San Suu Kyi still constitutionally barred from becoming president, many laws need to be rewritten. The President?s spokesman openly admits the government?s shortcomings. Activist Ko Moe Thwa vigilance is paramount: "the country has changed but we need to watch carefully where this change is leading"...."
Creator/author: Anjali Rao
Source/publisher: Journeyman Pictures
2013-11-04
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English (spoken and sub-titles; Burmese)
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Description: Conclusion: "Myanmar goes to the polls in 2015 in a very different political context to the general elections in 2010 or 1990. Indeed, provided that political campaigning and the conduct of the polls are genuinely free and fair, it should become the most broadly contested election since independence in 1948. Yet, while political space has opened up and there have been many reforms since President Thein Sein assumed office in 2011, core ethnic aspirations have yet to be realized ? either through parliament or the national peace process. The country and its politics remain polarized and ethnicity highly politicized. For this reason, while the elections have the potential to be reasonably credible and inclusive (although far from uniformly so) and ethnic parties may fare reasonably well, it is not clear that the structures and processes in Myanmar politics are at present capable of effectively addressing the legacy of decades of ethnic conflict and discrimination that continue to leave many communities in the country neglected and marginalised. It is therefore vital that the election is closely monitored and openly pursued and that, whatever the outcome, it is not perceived as an end itself but another step in a reform process that still has a long way to run in bringing peace, equality and democratic rights to all the country?s peoples. A historic challenge awaits Myanmar?s leaders through the 2015 polls. As with the peace talks towards a nationwide ceasefire, they provide the opportunity for different parties to work constructively together in building a democratic future for the country. The question remains: will the 2015 election become the platform from which the issues of ethnic peace and inclusive reform are really grappled with, or will they result in another failed opportunity to do so?"
Source/publisher: Transnational Institute (TNI)
2015-09-08
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 256.04 KB 2.69 MB
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "The situation in Myanmar?s Rakhine State is driving a regional crisis. Systematic discrim-ination against Rohingya Muslims has contributed to the largest regional outflow of asylum seekers by sea in decades. Humanitarian conditions in Rohingya villages and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps are dire, and Rohingya suffer frequent abuses at the hands of Myanmar authorities. In May 2015, the region was forced to grapple with the results of these conditions, as thousands of Rohingya asylum seekers were stranded on boats in the Andaman Sea, making international headlines. ASEAN leaders met at the time in the hopes of resolving the crisis, but failed to craft a regional response to the drivers of the outflow, which are rooted in Rakhine State. In the months since, these underlying drivers have been compounded by an increasing sense of desperation among Rohingya, driven principally by political exclusion. The disenfranchisement of an estimated one million Rohingya voters, as well as the rejection of dozens of Rohingya parliamentary candidates in advance of the 8 November general election, has led many Rohingya to believe that there is little hope for their future in Myanmar. With no opportunity to take part in perhaps the most consequential election in Myanmar?s history and no hope of any political representation, Rohingya feel they are being forced out of the country. Furthering this perception is the proliferation of anti-Muslim hate speech and sentiment across Myanmar and the government?s failure to address this growing threat. If left unchecked, Buddhist extremists will continue to vilify Rohingya for political purposes, and further episodes of inter-communal violence could erupt in Rakhine State and other areas, driving still more Rohingya to flee their homes. During 2015, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) undertook two fact-finding missions to Myanmar to assess the situation and further investigate the root causes of the Rohingya exodus. APHR?s team of parliamentarians and researchers met with government officials, religious leaders, civil society representatives, and UN agencies, as well as Rohingya and Rakhine community members and IDPs. The findings were clear: ASEAN risks another full-blown crisis as a result of unresolved conditions in Myanmar. Unless serious steps are taken to address the situation of depri-vation and despair in Rakhine State, many Rohingya will have no other option but to flee in search of asylum elsewhere. The next wave of refugees is coming. Tens of thousands of Rohingya have already fled by sea, but nearly a million more are still undergoing heavy persecution throughout Rakhine State. When the remaining Rohingya begin to leave, they will be extremely vulnerable to human trafficking to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia..."
Source/publisher: ASEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS via ALSEAN-BURMA
2015-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: "On 8 November 2015, Burma?s electorate will vote for the representatives who will sit in Parliament from 2016 to 2021. The polls are anticipated to usher in a Parliament that will be markedly different from the body that was installed as a result of the November 2010 election and the April 2012 by-elections. This will be due to the significant number of seats that the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, is expected to win. The November 2010 election was tainted by a flawed legal framework, a lack of inclusiveness, widespread corruption, irregularities, and voter fraud, and was boycotted by the NLD. As expected, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) overwhelmingly won the polls. Dominated by the USDP and military-appointed members of Parliament (MPs), Parliament failed to amend or repeal many of Burma?s oppressive laws and blocked key constitutional amendments. In many cases, newly enacted legislation contained provisions that ran counter to international human rights standards. Other new laws prioritized political and economic interests over human rights. In addition, MPs rejected numerous proposals aimed at addressing important human rights issues. The likelihood that the next Parliament?s make-up will be substantially different from the current one does not necessarily mean that lawmakers will be more effective in addressing key human rights issues. This report, based on a survey of the human rights commitments of Burma?s political parties, found that parties generally favored actions aimed at tackling critical issues that have a negative impact on human rights. However, in several of those instances, the report shows that parties failed to identify and prioritize the specific measures that would address key human rights concerns in a direct and effective way. This was particularly true in the areas of legislative reform, ethnic minority rights, and women?s rights, where political considerations seemed to take precedence over human rights concerns. The report?s findings also reflect the disturbing situation regarding religious intolerance in Burma. Forty-two percent of the political parties refused to make any commitments on ways to address discrimination against Muslim Rohingya. More troubling was the fact that several parties aligned themselves with the government?s official position that denies the existence of Rohingya as one of Burma?s ethnic groups. In the final analysis, the alarming result was that almost three quarters of the political parties refused to support the amendment of the 1982 Citizenship Law to give Muslim Rohingya equal access to citizenship rights. In addition, responses in favor of the repeal of recently enacted legislation, misleadingly labeled ?Race and Religion Protection Laws,? garnered little support among the political parties. The report provides numerous recommendations to MPs, based on statements and reports issued by various UN special procedures as well as resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the UN General Assembly (UNGA). These recommendations provide a clear agenda for parliamentary action to deal with important human rights issues that, if left unaddressed by the newly elected MPs, risk seriously undermining the country?s reform process."
Source/publisher: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
2015-11-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-11-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 731.05 KB
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Description: "At Naypyidaw?s invitation, the Carter Center and European Union have come to Burma to observe the general election. DVB speaks to Frederick Rawski, the Myanmar Field Office Director of the Carter Center, and asks him about his team?s mandate and how it will assess Burma?s polls."
Creator/author: COLIN HINSHELWOOD
Source/publisher: Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB)
2015-10-22
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Executive Summary: "In the context of the 2015 elections, this report aims to provide a summary of what these elections mean and how the elections are perceived in ethnic nationality areas of Burma. Given that up to 40% of the population of Burma are not ethnically Burman, it is vital to present the perspectives and attitudes, as well as the political situation, in these ethnic areas in the run up to this much anticipated event. This report finds that ethnic political parties and ethnic civil society broadly agree on fundamental issues: the need for peace, ethnic equality, self-determination, and a federal system of governance. Given the centralized governance structure and the overbearing presence and power of the Burma Army, an institution that has been at war with ethnic nationality actors for over 65 years, it is fundamental structural changes in the way that Burma is governed that will address peace, ethnic equality, self-determination and federalism, not the 2015 elections. The report finds that the State and Region level Parliaments simply do not have power to make essential changes in the lives of ethnic communities. The stipulations in Schedules One and Two of the 2008 Constitution allocate very few responsibilities to the local level while the Chief Minister of the State or Region Parliament is chosen by the President. Both ethnic communities and ethnic political parties feel the impotence of this centralized structure of governance and most stated that they need this to change before they are able to develop policy platforms on issues such as education, health, drugs, and other issues. Furthermore, the Burma Army has entrenched its power through the control of day to day administration through the General Administration Department (GAD), its allocation of 25% seats in Union, and State and Region level Parliaments, as well as control over key ministries. The 2015 elections will not change either of these two structural impediments to ethnic equality - military domination and centralization of governance - and both ethnic political parties and ethnic civil society expressed this in the research conducted. It is important not to forget that there is another ongoing process that seeks to realize aspirations of ethnic equality and self-determination - the peace process. For many ethnic communities, this is the most important political process in Burma today. This is not to state that the 2015 elections are unimportant or irrelevant for ethnic areas. They will serve to develop the political maturity of ethnic political parties that are either very new or have been operating underground or in exile for many years. But amid the hype and optimism surround this historic event, the aspirations of many ethnic communities will remain unfulfilled unless fundamental, structural, institutional changes in governance take place."
Source/publisher: Burma Partnership (BP)
2015-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 676.8 KB
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Description: "The Carter Center election observation mission has deployed field teams to observe the electoral campaign, which officially started on Sept. 8. The first week of campaigning, as observed by the Center in three states, was peaceful, and parties report being able to conduct their campaign activities without significant difficulty. The Center remains concerned that strict enforcement of campaign regulations, and recently announced limitations on political speech, could have a negative impact on pre-election political space. The Carter Center also monitored the candidate nomination, scrutiny, and appeals process, including meeting with election commission officials and disqualified candidates. Overall, the process facilitated the registration of a large number of candidates across a broad range of political parties. However, candidate scrutiny lacked due process in some districts, and disqualification of candidates had a disproportionately negative impact on ethnic and religious minorities, in particular on Muslim candidates. Commendably, the Union Election Commission (UEC) intervened and reinstated some candidates, including some from minority groups. Not all such cases were reviewed, though, and almost all Muslim candidates in Rakhine state remain disqualified..."
Source/publisher: Carter Center
2015-09-25
Date of entry/update: 2015-09-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "...This article first aims to set the scene by providing a glimpse of Myanmar?s parliament and capital in Naypyitaw. Second, it focuses on the key players and institutions involved in the elections. Third, it clarifies the complicated mechanics of the Parliament, how it will determine which political party will hold the confidence of the electorate, and how that body elects the President. Fourth, it reflects on key social and microeconomic issues which will impact the electorate, in particular the dark side of Buddhist nationalism, and the role of Aung San Suu Kyi as a national leader in whatever office she finally achieves. Fifth, I provide a brief reflection on what implications the elections might have for Canada. I conclude by arguing that democratic advances will be made in the election, but that the real moment of truth will unfold in the days ahead as key public and armed forces personalities work out a balance of power. Myanmar has made huge progress in liberalizing its political environment, but it will take decades for the military to retire from its long-promoted image as the singular embodiment of the nation?s ruling force..."
Creator/author: Bruce Matthews
Source/publisher: Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
2015-07-21
Date of entry/update: 2015-09-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "In an interview with reporter Myo Zaw Ko of RFA?s Myanmar Service, Ashin Wirathu of the Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion (Ma Ba Tha), lays out his Buddhist nationalist group?s views on the Nov. 8 general elections, national security and communal relations in a country torn by strife between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims."
Source/publisher: Radio Free Asia
2015-09-17
Date of entry/update: 2015-09-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract: "In 2010 Myanmar held its first elections for two decades, transitioning from direct military rule to a notionally civilian form of government. Accompanying this political transition has been increased political and media freedom. Democracy means public opinion is more important than ever to the country?s political leaders, while reforms to Myanmar?s media censorship regime have allowed previously suppressed opinions to be widely disseminated through the media. While pro-democracy political groups have taken the opportunity to organise, this paper is concerned with the opportunities these freedoms have provided to Myanmar?s more divisive political figures. Ethnic relations in Myanmar have been a long-standing source of domestic conflict. Ethnicity can be a test for citizenship and ethnic identity is often closely linked with religion. Communal conflict between elements of the country?s Buddhist majority and the Muslim minority since 2012 have exposed previously suppressed staunch anti-Muslim voices from within the Buddhist community. Notably, the 969 Movement, activist monk Ashin Wirathu and the Ma Ba Tha have argued it is in Myanmar?s national interest to protect the Buddhist religion from a perceived Muslim threat, calling for restrictions to Muslims? political and civil freedoms. This paper suggests that the success of U Wirathu and the Ma Ba Tha?s political agenda would add another layer of complexity to how Myanmar?s citizenship laws operate in practice since existing citizens would have their rights restricted on the basis of religion. This would amount to the creation of a de facto religious tes t for full Myanmar citizenship rights. In the context of Myanmar?s limited democracy (Kingsbury 2014), this paper asks, can Myanmar?s national political leaders hold back the apparent tide of popular support for the creation of a de facto religious state? The author will argue that Myanmar?s political leaders, facing a national general election in November 2015, will not take the necessary steps to hold back this tide of support for discriminatory policies and the consequence, while perhaps unintended, will be the creation of a de-facto official state religion.".....Paper delivered at the International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015.
Creator/author: Ronan Lee
Source/publisher: International Conference on Burma/Myanmar Studies: Burma/Myanmar in Transition: Connectivity, Changes and Challenges: University Academic Service Centre (UNISERV), Chiang Mai University, Thailand, 24-­26 July 2015
2015-07-25
Date of entry/update: 2015-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 412.68 KB
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Description: "2015 Myanmar/Burma Update: how national elections and the peace process in Myanmar may clash in the coming year. International observers should manage their expectations about elections and peace in Myanmar, says leading expert Professor Mary Callahan. Speaking at the 2015 Myanmar/Burma Update at the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Callahan argued that the coming year will see two key ?macro processes? in the country. On one hand will be the first national elections in the country in 25 years. And on the other hand the peace process ? and the hope for a National Ceasefire Agreement. She suggests that the combination of elections and the peace process ? in the context of so much other flux ? is the making of a ?perfect storm?. The two processes may be mutually harmful and disappointing, and yet they may also have some unexpected positive consequences. This caution about a ?perfect storm? comes from the fact national elections and the peace process may be in tension. On one hand, elections are by nature ?about contestation and polarisation. Winners take all and the losers go home,? said Callahan. So political parties will likely inflame tensions as they attempt to garner support and undermine the positions of opponents. On the other hand, a peace process by nature is about ?building bridges, expanding inclusion, moving away from zero sum politics and trying to develop respect for alternative visions and aspirations,? she said. In this sense, the process of the peace negotiations is very different to that of elections..."
Creator/author: Tamas Wells
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2015-06-05
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "In Myanmar, a summit of ethnic armed group leaders rejected the NCA text agreed in March, making it almost certain that the agreement will not be signed before the country goes to elections later this year. This makes it highly unlikely that there will be further progress on talks to end the decades-long conflict for the next twelve months, and increases the risk of armed conflict over the coming year. It also means more areas could be declared too insecure for elections to take place..."
Source/publisher: International Crisis Group (Crisiswatch No. 143)
2015-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2015-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 53.8 KB
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Description: "For those of you not fortunate enough to get to Canberra for the 2015 Myanmar/Burma Update, we?ve got the next best thing. You can listen to seven of the eight conference sessions in the playlist above. Recordings cover the keynote address by Speaker of Myanmar?s Upper House, HE U Khin Aung Myint, the political update by Mary Callaghan, the economics update, two panels on borderland conflicts and the peace process, communal and sectarian violence in Rakhine State (featuring testimony from long-time Rohingya politician U Kyaw Min), and a wrap up on the many other forms of conflict in the country."
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2015-06-17
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "2015 Myanmar/Burma Update: military and international observers will be key to ensuring elections run smoothly. Myanmar?s upcoming election serves to highlight the role of the parliament in conflict resolution, the role of the election in ongoing conflict, and the relationship between law and conflict. That was the view of specialist panel on electoral politics at the 2015 Myanmar/Burma Update..."
Creator/author: Amy Doffegnies & Cecile Medail
Source/publisher: "New Mandala"
2015-06-19
Date of entry/update: 2015-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: SUMMARY: "• Myanmar?s transition from military rule to democracy is far from complete, and its successes to date remain fragile. Given the chronic inertia and isolation of the previous half-century, there has been remarkable progress since 2011. But more work is needed to consolidate democracy, improve governance and promote stability. • Legislative elections due by the end of 2015 promise to be pivotal for the country?s political development. The elections are likely to be the freest in decades, but the opportunity for constitutional reform ahead of the polls appears to have been missed. • A political compromise between the military-dominated Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) no longer looks feasible before the elections. • Ceasefires with ethnic minorities in recent years have improved the security situation, but a national peace settlement has proven elusive. Armed groups may prefer to await the outcome of the elections rather than negotiate with the current government. • Sectarian rivalry and the legacy of prolonged government neglect are fuelling continued instability in Rakhine state. Domestic and international actors must address the crisis in the state urgently, or risk the emergence of a situation that threatens national unity as well as regional stability.".....CONCLUSION: A CRITICAL YEAR: "Myanmar faces enormous challenges, with the elections at the end of the year likely to be a turning point in its history. They could herald a new era that sees a diminishing role for the military, better relations with the outside world ? including the West ? and a country at peace with itself and embracing its many minorities. There are other futures too. A reform process that stumbles badly is clearly imaginable ? not least over the position of Aung San Suu Kyi in national life; ceasefires that do not hold with increasingly restless minorities; and the emergence of Rakhine state as potentially a new flashpoint in a rising global Islamist agenda. These dangers are all too real. In all likelihood Myanmar will find itself caught between these two scenarios. The elections will almost certainly proceed; abandoning reform is simply not an option now, even for military hardliners. Although much of institutional life is still dominated by the military, a real politics has emerged in Myanmar in recent years. Any attempt to put the democratic genie back in the bottle is unlikely. But the potential for unrest, and even violence, remains considerable. At the same time, other Southeast Asian histories offer alternative possibilities. While the military appears to be firmly back in charge in neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia has evolved into one of the more robust democracies in Southeast Asia. In doing so, the country has overcome a toxic legacy of 33 years of military rule (from 1965 to 1998) and has successfully fended off threats of internal secession and Islamist extremism. Indonesia?s example is one that many in Myanmar still hope their country can follow."
Creator/author: Michael C. Williams
Source/publisher: Chatham House
2015-02-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 270.06 KB
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Description: "The general elections in Myanmar planned for late 2015 could mark a major step forward in the political reform process that began in 2011. Despite a high level of mistrust in government, the general public appears to have an overall positive view of elections and overwhelmingly intends to vote.1 Significantly, the government has made a public commitment to inviting international and national election observation organizations to monitor the election process, a notable difference from the 2010 and 2012 elections. The Carter Center, at the invitation of the Union Election Commission (UEC), is conducting an assessment of the pre-election environment in preparation for the deployment of a larger election observation mission. This is the Carter Center?s first statement since deploying staff to the states and regions in December 2014. In this preliminary assessment, The Carter Center finds that there are efforts underway to make the electoral process more transparent and less vulnerable to manipulation. However, a number of key challenges need to be addressed in order to ensure that the elections earn the confidence of voters, political parties, and civil society organizations. The main findings include:..."
Source/publisher: The Carter Center
2015-03-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-05-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 446.51 KB
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "Myanmar is preparing to hold national elections in early November 2015, five years after the last full set of polls brought the semi-civilian reformist government to power. The elections, which are constitutionally required within this timeframe, will be a major political inflection point, likely replacing a legislature dominated by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), established by the former regime, with one more reflective of popular sentiment. The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party of Aung San Suu Kyi is well-placed to take the largest bloc of seats. There have been major improvements in election administration since the deeply flawed 2010 elections and the more credible 2012 by-elections. While the election commission is still widely perceived as close to the government and the USDP, the transparent and consultative approach it has adopted and the specific decisions it has taken suggest it is committed to delivering credible polls. This includes major efforts to update and digitise the voter roll; consultation with civil society and international electoral support organisations on the regulatory framework; invitations to international electoral observers for the first time, as well as to domestic observers; changing problematic provisions on advance voting; and reducing the costs of a candidacy. The broader political environment is also more conducive to credible elections, with a significantly freer media and much improved civil liberties. There remain major challenges to a credible, inclusive and peaceful election. Much of the periphery of the country is affected by armed conflict, and though there have been important steps toward bringing the six-decade civil war to a close, the process remains fragile and incomplete. The vote could be marred by violence in some areas and will not be possible in others. In central Myanmar, rising Burman nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment have exploded sporadically into violence, something that could happen again in the politically charged context of an election. In Rakhine state, minority Muslim communities have been disenfranchised by a decision to cancel their identification documents. Electoral security and risk management preparations have become a critical priority of the election commission. Capacity constraints will also come into play. The country has very limited experience of democratic polls, including government staff, security services and election commission staff at the local level. Understanding among the electorate is also very low, and major education efforts will be required. For the elections to be successful, there must also be broad acceptance of the results. In a context of divergent expectations and, inevitably, winners and losers, this will be a challenge. While reformist government leaders appear reconciled to the prospect of the NLD winning the most seats, it is unclear whether this sentiment is shared by a majority of the old elite. Similarly, it is unclear whether the NLD?s base fully understands likely post-election scenarios. With Aung San Suu Kyi constitutionally barred from the presidency and no obvious alternative within its ranks, it is probable that even if the party wins a landslide, it will have to select a compromise candidate for president ? potentially a reformist member of the old regime. The some three months between the elections and the presidential electoral college?s decision will be a time of considerable uncertainty, possible tension, and intense behind-the-scenes negotiation. The outcome, and the extent to which it is broadly accepted, will determine whether there is a smooth transfer of power and whether the next administration will have the broad support necessary to govern or have its legitimacy constantly questioned. Probably the most important factor will be the support ? or at least acquiescence ­? of the military, which retains strong influence over the process. The commander-in-chief has voiced support for the democratic electoral process and has undoubtedly foreseen the prospect of strong support for the NLD. But this does not mean he would be comfortable with all the potential implications of such an outcome. The elections are coming less than five years into what will continue to be a long and difficult transition for Myanmar. They create a moment of political competition and polarisation in a transition process that requires compromise and consensus. If credible and inclusive, they can help to build confidence that the country is on a new political path and thereby inject fresh momentum into the reforms. Equally, they could damage the delicate set of compromises that has so far kept the process broadly on track. It behoves political leaders on all sides to ensure that they keep this larger prize foremost in their minds."
Source/publisher: (International) Crisis Group
2015-04-28
Date of entry/update: 2015-04-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 422.72 KB
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Description: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: "This report examines the state of opinion research in Myanmar,, identi5es challenges, and makes recommendations for improvements. Since the government of Myanmar announced a transition from military rule to democracy in 2010, both domestic and international stakeholders have turned to polling to discover public opinion on a range of issues. Polling is critical in transitioning countries. Polls can provide parties with data to understand the needs and desires of the electorate and serve as a check on government excesses. 6ey make information on public views widely available and can represent both the diversity of existing opinions and positions of minority populations. Finally, they show a road to political compromise and prepare parties and the public to deal with election outcomes. 6e Western public accepts and expects polling on a regular basis, but we did not 5nd that always the case in Myanmar. Although Myanmar has a decades-long history of market surveys, political polling is a relatively new phenomenon. Organizations operating in this 5eld face four major challenges. 6e 5rst is selecting a sample in a country that lacks reliable census or voter registration data, and lacks comprehensive access to telephones or the internet. 6e second is how to provide survey questionnaires in several languages to accommodate Myanmar?s numerous ethnic groups. 6e third challenge relates to interviewers, both to their training and to accounting for possible response bias based on the interaction between the interviewer?s socio-demographic background and the respondent?s. Finally, polling groups and interviewers must ensure respondents? con5dentiality. 6ese problems are not unique to Myanmar. Pollsters around the world regularly grapple with similar dilemmas. What makes their task more challenging in Myanmar is the novelty of polling. Few people (even in civil society and political parties) understand its nature, and many are quick to dismiss the whole exercise when they do not like some of a poll?s results. 6e report examines and refutes several of their criticisms, perhaps the most common being that a sample, no matter how large, cannot capture the full diversity of opinions in a country as large and heterogeneous as Myanmar. It is possible to tackle these misperceptions and improve practices. Our recommendations for immediate actions can be implemented ahead of the parliamentary election this year. 6ey include suggestions on conducting polls, providing frameworks for their interpretation, and training potential users to understand polling data. Long-term change will require consistent attention and investment from polling groups, those who commission them, and users of polling data to strengthen the polling 5eld. Most importantly, polling organizations should continue making their data publicly available. 6ose who conduct and commission public surveys need to do so on a regular basis. Both practices will teach the public to see polls as a normal element of a democratic process and become another step in Myanmar?s transition to a full-7edged democracy."
Source/publisher: Open Society Foundations (OSF)
2015-04-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-04-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Burmese version. A survey to document public knowledge and awareness of new government institutions and processes, and to gauge the political, social, and economic values held by people from diverse backgrounds, to inform the country?s long-term development. The survey included face-to-face interviews with more than 3,000 respondents across all 14 Myanmar states and regions.."
Source/publisher: Asia Foundation
2014-12-11
Date of entry/update: 2015-01-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ
Format : pdf
Size: 13.55 MB
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Description: "A survey to document public knowledge and awareness of new government institutions and processes, and to gauge the political, social, and economic values held by people from diverse backgrounds, to inform the country?s long-term development. The survey included face-to-face interviews with more than 3,000 respondents across all 14 Myanmar states and regions."
Source/publisher: Asia Foundation
2014-12-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-01-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.39 MB
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