Historic election for Burma and Suu Kyi
Even if opposition leader wins, constitution reserves 25% of seats for military
Millions of citizens voted Sunday in Burma’s historic general election.
For a country that has spent nearly half a century under military rule, many of Burma’s 30 million eligible voters headed to a polling station for the first time in what many are calling the nation’s freest election ever.
Voters lined up in Buddhist temples, schools and government buildings early in the morning. Ye Lin Aung, a software engineer in Rangoon, left his residence at 5 a.m. Sunday, an hour ahead of poll opening time.
“While waiting to vote, I felt excited and a little bit nervous because this is (my) first time. I want my vote to matter,” the 23-year-old said.
He said the lines were already beginning to form at that hour before the afternoon heat set in. Ten people entered the polling station at a time, and voters were guided through the process by helpful staff.
Ye Lin says that while some voters around him voiced doubt about the process, he doesn’t have any major concerns. “We are all waiting for the officials results and we are very posi- tive about the change, to be honest,” he said. “However, in the meantime, we are being realistic and we still think things are unpredictable, until everything is confirmed officially.”
Vote count began immediately, and hundreds of supporters gathered under umbrellas at the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party’s office in Rangoon hoping to see results. But party functionaries announced that results would not be available until Monday. That is when 70-year-old opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is expected to address the crowd, urging the eager audience to return the next day.
The historic election is also making waves outside the country. Protesters gathered outside the Burmese embassy in London on Sunday to denounce Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya people, who are also not permitted to vote in this election.
“There is a mixed atmosphere among exiles here in the U.K.: some people are cautiously optimistic. This is clearly a historic day and an NLD victory would be a real step forward despite the military retaining significant control,” said Liam Allmark, a British citizen. Allmark’s family left Burma in1965, three years after the junta took power.
The election will not bring full democracy to this nation, which spent nearly five decades under brutal military rule and the past five years un- der a quasi-civilian government. Burma’s constitution guarantees 25 per cent of seats in parliament to the military, and was rewritten to keep Suu Kyi, the country’s most popular politician, from the presidency.
“ANP control of the regional legislature could be a serious blow to the rights of Rohingya who are already facing appalling abuses and are now extremely vulnerable,” said Allmark, a public affairs manager.
“It is important that the international community does not take an approach that ‘everything is fine in Myanmar now.’ ”