Not Exactly A Triumph For Democracy

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The attractive middle-aged woman reaches over the top of a gate and 
hands a journal to a shirtless man, a small tuft of grey hair on his
 chest. "Don’t worry, Daw Nay Yee, you’ve got my vote," he says,
 handing back 200 kyats, the equivalent of about 20 US cents.

The small group of Democratic Party (Myanmar) members continue along
the potted suburban Yangon street, which is flanked by large,
 mildewing houses built during the socialist era under General Ne Win.
The residents of this section of Sanchaung township are a mixed bag,
from former senior military officers and "old money" to gatekeepers
 and gardeners. For the most part they are united — and effusive — in
 their support for Daw Nay Yee Ba Swe.


"I used to live in this area, until about seven years ago," says the
 Democratic Party secretary and daughter of former Prime Minister U Ba 
Swe. "Most of the people I knew then have left so I’m working to build
up my profile again. I’ve been getting a good response; people 
recognise me, and of course they know my father as well."
 She explains to voters that the election is like a small window to 
democracy. "We need to take this difficult path for our children, for
the future generations," she says, drawing thoughtful nods of agreement.


For the majority of candidates in Burma’s election — hardly household names in a country where politics has been largely off
 limits for 20 years — campaigning in the lead up to Sunday’s poll was more difficult. The two decade long tussle between the National 
League for Democracy (NLD) and the military government left voters wary 
of politics and fearful of the consequences should they show support
for opposition candidates.


There were no mass public rallies before Sunday’s poll — "They’re not worth the effort
or cost to organise; we can’t even be sure people will turn up," one 
party leader told me — and restrictions on party publications are
 onerous. Local private journals, while vibrant and following the
 election closely, are still subject to government censorship. Special 
Branch operatives film all public events, intimidating participants,
and candidates and members are often followed when they hand out 
flyers.


Regardless, the "democratic parties" — probably fewer than half of the
 37 registered groups — had almost no chance of gaining a majority in
the lower and upper houses from the outset.


Once the NLD leadership chose in late March not to take part, ensuring 
the party would be deregistered, the die was cast. The government’s
election laws ensured there would be no viable democratic opposition
to challenge the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development 
Party (USDP).


The cost of registering a candidate was set at the local equivalent of 
US$500, a figure most of the parties were unable to provide.
Consequently, more than 2100 of the 3070 candidates are from either 
the USDP or National Unity Party, the NLD’s rival from 1990. The 
Democratic Party put up 47 candidates, while the National Democratic
 Force, formed by former members of the now-deregistered National 
League for Democracy, fielded 163 candidates.


In many state or regional constituencies — and perhaps one-third of 
upper and lower house seats — voters will have only candidates from 
the two establishment parties to choose between.
"We are not fighting for first or even second place," the chairman of 
the Union Democratic Party conceded last week in an interview with 
local media.


The results of this election have not yet been released but if the votes are tallied properly, democratic parties are likely
 to win a good proportion of the constituencies they contest — perhaps
up to a third of all seats in the lower and upper houses of the
 national parliament.


This will give them a foothold with which to influence economic,
health and education policies and, in five years time, perhaps to offer a 
real challenge to the USDP in a more even and open setting.
The senior military officials responsible for running the country into 
the ground are expected to fade from the scene,
 putting the power into the hands of younger and, hopefully, more
 reform-minded individuals.


This scenario could only take place in a setting where the generals do
 not feel threatened; the 2008 constitution, while extremely flawed, 
guarantees them this comfort.


There’s comfort too because the ground has shifted significantly since 1990; the most obvious
 change being that the NLD did not contest the election. Unlike 20 years ago, this 
was a parliamentary election and not a vote to elect representatives to 
draft a constitution, a common misperception about the NLD’s 1990 
victory.


That was an election won largely on emotion. By voting day almost any
 candidate running on an NLD ticket was guaranteed to win. The people 
were still shocked at the military’s bloody crackdown two years 
earlier and needed little encouragement to throw them out.


This time around there was a constitution that ensures the military
 won’t be leaving any time soon, with 25 per cent of seats in all
parliaments reserved for defence services personnel.

Creating belief 
among voters that they can make a difference to the outcome was been
 far more difficult, which goes some way to explaining the low voter turnout.
 The onus was on candidates from the democratic parties to explain
 to voters why they should exercise their right to vote — and then why 
they should ignore local officials and vote for a party other than the 
USDP.


And some democratic candidates underperformed in this regard during the campaign period, failing to engage 
with voters in any meaningful way.
 The NLD’s boycott campaign — or, more precisely, its campaign to 
remind voters they don’t have to vote — was almost invisible and 
had little impact, except among some urban intelligentsia.

Fear and
apathy played a much greater role.
"I’m not voting for anyone," a friend from Yangon’s North Okkalapa
told me. "I want to stay neutral. That’s the best way." 
For this reason, violence was a remote prospect. As one local
 political analyst pointed out last week, you can only feel strongly
 about a candidate or a party — strongly enough to get involved in a
 protest, for example — if you know exactly who they are and what they
stand for. "Most voters don’t even know the candidates in their
constituency," he said.


A lack of political experience -— about 80 per cent of the NDF’s Yangon
candidates had never contested an election, for example — as well as 
financial constraints and campaigning restrictions have combined to
 bring some democratic politicians unstuck.


But in other areas, a new generation emerged. Pazundaung, in
downtown Yangon, was considered a safe seat for the local USDP
 candidate, a publisher with close links to the Minister of
 Information.


Enter independent candidate U Yan Kyaw. A former activist who 
contested the 1990 election but lost to the NLD representative, U Yan 
Kyaw became a visible and vocal presence in the township over the
past few weeks. Shunning more conservative party politics, he 
quickly won over the local media with outspoken speeches at press
conferences and his "say no to the ‘yes men’" slogan. 
Less than a month ago I heard from one man from Pazundaung that he
 wouldn’t bother voting because the USDP already had the seat sown up;
but in the days before the election, residents confided that they plan to vote for the mee eain, or 
lantern, a reference to U Yan election logo.


While the USDP and NUP are expected to dominate Myanmar’s
 post-election parliaments, having brave politicians like U Yan Kyaw in the
legislative process can only be a step forward.

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Launched in 2004, New Matilda is one of Australia's oldest online independent publications. It's focus is on investigative journalism and analysis, with occasional smart arsery thrown in for reasons of sanity. New Matilda is owned and edited by Walkley Award and Human Rights Award winning journalist Chris Graham.

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