Election
- Politics
‘Politicians should design a clear roadmap for change and restore public trust’ – Khin Ma Ma Myo
Khin Ma Ma Myo is the founder and executive director of the Yangon-based Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security Studies (MIPSS), which was set up this year. She studied politics, economics and governance at universities in Japan and the United Kingdom. Myanmar Now reporter PhyoThiha Cho spoke with Khin Ma Ma Myo about Myanmar’s political situation ahead of the election, the prospects of reforms to the 2008 Constitution, and the military’s continued control over the ministries of defence, home affairs and border security. Question: Why do you think the public discussion of constitutional amendments has gone quiet? Answer: Achieving constitutional amendments or resolving the peace process will take a long time. Now, political parties are conducting campaigns with a focus on the public’s immediate needs, such as poverty reduction, education and health, rather than long-term, structural reforms in politics, economy and society. Q: Do you mean political parties are focusing on fundamental needs, instead of addressing the public’s political expectations, such as greater democracy? A: I assume some political parties are changing their approach to prioritise improvement of peoples’ livelihoods. After that, they will push for political reforms. It should not be read as if they are neglecting the political…
- Myanmar
Activists in race to push an apathetic electorate to register and vote
On a recent hot afternoon on a bustling street in Hlaing Thayar Township, residents and stall keepers were shading themselves from the blistering sun, but a group of youth activists clad in blue T-shirts were undeterred in their efforts to motivate would-be voters. “Soon there will be elections that could change our future. You have the freedom to vote for your preferred candidates, but you will only be able to do so if your name is on the voter list,” a member of the Independent Youth For Change announced through a handheld speaker to passers-by. “We urge you to check the voter list.” Hlaing Thayar Township, a sprawling mix of shanty towns and industrial estates on Yangon’s northern outskirts, has emerged as one of the main areas in the city affected by widespread voter registration problems. The issue could leave tens of thousands of people in the township – and many more nationwide – without the opportunity to vote in Myanmar’s landmark polls on Nov. 8. Concerned activists and opposition party candidates are trying to mobilise voters in the area to make sure their names are correctly registered on voter lists. But the time left to do this is fast…
- Myanmar
Myanmar’s political rookies polish message in pre-election training
In a packed, windowless room, 40 or so candidates preparing to run in Myanmar’s general election listen in rapt attention as the trainer clicks to the next slide – a picture of a red compact car. “Your message should be forward-looking, in the same way that the main purpose of the wheels of a car is to move forward,” says the slight, bespectacled woman advising the political hopefuls. “When the voters hear you speak, they will think, ‘this is the candidate who is going to improve my life’.” Most of the overwhelmingly male, middle-aged audience are members of the Federal Union Party (FUP) and first-time candidates who have never attended such a training. They take notes in old-fashioned exercise books, pages yellow with age, as the trainer explains the intricacies of planning and executing an election campaign, from conducting research to connecting with voters. Candidates started campaigning this week for the historic Nov. 8 election, the first in decades to be contested by all Myanmar’s main opposition parties, giving a platform to democratic activists who had been shut out of public life under military rule that ended in 2011. Tin Mar Mar Lwin, a 49-year-old retired primary school teacher from…
- Investigation
Return of State Thugs Raises Fears over Election Violence
The Swan Arr Shin—which means Masters of Force in Burmese—had not been seen since the army installed a nominally civilian government in 2011, while the USDA became the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in 2010.
