Burma’s New Election Laws

The Burmese government has issued strict laws for its upcoming elections, the first open elections in 20 years. Among other things, the laws ban anyone convicted by the courts from participating in the elections. Further, the laws require political parties to expel all imprisoned members in order to stay legal and participate in the elections. Rights activists say the laws target the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years since winning the last open elections in 1990. Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD won over 80% of the governmental seats, but the military junta simply ignored the results and imprisoned or exiled many of the NLD leaders.

Rights activists argue that these elections laws are designed to weaken or abolish the NLD, by making the party choose between dismissing Aung San Suu Kyi and other imprisoned members or withdraw entirely from the election in order to remain intact. Currently, the NLD has not made a move to expel its imprisoned members, but neither has it stated that it will be taking part in the elections.
 
These election laws drew sharp criticism from around the world, with many nations expressing disappointment and outrage in the elections, calling them a “sham and a farce.” The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon had earlier stated that without the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi and other key political prisoners, the elections will be neither inclusive nor legitimate. The Burmese government has made no move to release its more than 2,100 political prisoners.
 
In response to these new election laws, the U.S. State Department expressed its refusal to acknowledge the results of the illegitimate elections
 
Further delegitimizing the elections, General Than Shwe, the military junta leader, urged the Burmese people to make “correct choices” in the elections. Many people in Burma have interpreted the remark as an implicit warning to back the military government.