Hardly Democratic: Myanmar’s 2020 Election Issues

By: Kevin Cowan

Myanmar will host its first election since 2015, which will also be only its second recognized election since the end of military rule in 2011.[1] Elections took place in 1990 but were ignored by the military regime that was in power at the time.[2] The 2020 election is set to take place on November 8 is monumental for most citizens of Myanmar as it will be only the second recognized election since 1962, which was the year that the military coup took place.[3] In what should be a great democratic event for the country may not be all that is hoped to be as many issues may undermine the integrity of the election. Brad Adams, the executive director of the Asia region for The Human Rights Watch, said, “[i]t’s a milestone for Myanmar to be holding a second multiparty election, but however long the lines are to vote, this election will be fundamentally flawed.”[4]

 

One of the challenges the country faces is of course COVID-19.[5] With a recent surge in COVID-19 cases within the country, there is fear that certain voting sites will be shutdown.[6] The government has issued stay at home orders that has greatly affected the ability of candidates to campaign throughout the country.[7] While initially Myanmar was able to stave off the virus with only seven deaths in September, the death rate has doubled over the first two weeks of October alone and the death total has reached over 500.[8] The surge has led to the government declaring media outlets non-essential businesses, which has severely restricted the distribution of news, especially regarding the election, and curtailed the efforts of these media outlets to cover campaign events.[9] However, interestingly the two government owned and operated newspapers, both of which are supportive of the incumbent party, are allowed to continue printing news.[10] The lack of media coverage has raised concerns over the fairness of the election.

 

A large issue facing Myanmar for this election is the voter disenfranchisement. The Rohingya Muslims, which number around one million, are the largest group of Muslims in the country and represent one of the many ethnic minorities.[11] Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, has denied this group citizenship and even excluded them from the 2014 census regardless of the fact that the group has been in the region and country for generations.[12] More than 800,000 Rohingya Muslims remain refugees across the border in Bangladesh with little hope of returning anytime soon given the anti-Rohingya sentiment.[13] The disenfranchisement includes six Rohingya Muslim citizens being disqualified from running for office based on their parent’s citizenship, which has been refuted and barring some from voting altogether.[14] Many were hopeful that current leader of the National League of Democracy (NLD), the party in power, and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, would change the sentiment and discrimination across the country but instead has supported and enabled the military in carrying out these discriminatory policies and actions.[15]

 

Myanmar’s own constitution makes it nearly impossible to have a fair and democratic election.[16] The terms of the constitution, which was passed in a referendum while the military still controlled the government, provide that only 75 percent of seats in parliament are up for election because 25 percent of seats in both houses are reserved for serving military appointees.[17] Recent proposed amendments to the constitution, including one that would alter the 25 percent military provision, were rejected by parliament.[18] A general in Myanmar who opposed the amendment stated that the military seats are necessary to “ensure national stability while the country transitions to a democracy.”[19] Furthermore, the NLD currently holds 80 percent of the elected seats in parliament, which combined with the reserved seats for the military leaves little to no room for actual change.[20] The only real threat in the election is the Union and Solidarity Party, which received a mere 8 percent of votes in 2015 and is likely to repeat this dismal performance come election day.[21] Even with the power to vote, the citizens of Myanmar are left with little discretion in their choice on the ballot.

These factors—a sham constitution, a surge in deadly virus cases, voter disenfranchisement and discrimination, and several others—lead to the conclusion that the election is not in any real doubt.[22] If Myanmar desires a fair, democratic process that its citizens deserve after generations of military rule, then it needs to take a hard look in the mirror and effect real change.

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[1] Richard Horsey, Myanmar Election will fall short of democratic standards, Financial Times (Sep 10, 2020) https://www.ft.com/content/a84c6047-7aac-4533-a38d-ffe0a794f833.

[2] JJ Rose, Myanmar Election: a fractured process, The Interpreter (Sep. 7, 2020) https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/myanmar-election-fractured-process.

[3] Id.

[4] Myanmar: Election Fundamentally Flawed, Human Rights Watch (Oct. 5, 2020) https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/05/myanmar-election-fundamentally-flawed.

[5] Id.

[6] Horsey, supra note 1.

[7] Supra, note 4.

[8] Shibani Matani & Cape Diamond, A coronavirus wave is hitting Myanmar, but Suu Kyi vows elections will go ahead, Washington Post (Oct. 9, 2020) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/coronavirus-myanmar-elections-suu-kyi/2020/10/09/c40ef0b0-06ed-11eb-8719-0df159d14794_story.html.

[9] Supra, note 4.

[10] Id.

[11] Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis, BBC News (Jan. 23, 2020) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561.

[12] Id.

[13] Horsey, supra note 1.

[14] Id.

[15] Supra, note 4.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] Gabrielle West, Myanmar parliament rejects constitutional amendment to reduce military political power, Jurist (Mar. 12, 2020) https://www.jurist.org/news/2020/03/myanmar-parliament-rejects-constitutional-amendment-to-reduce-military-political-power/.

[19] Id.

[20] Supra, note 4.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

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