Crucial Parliamentary Elections in Myanmar

The crucial parliamentary elections in Myanmar (formerly Burma) will be held on Sunday, and it is expected that Aung San Suu Kyi's party, the leader of the democracy movement in the country and Nobel Peace Prize winner, will receive the most votes, although she cannot reach the presidency. The elections on Sunday, November 7, are the first parliamentary elections in Myanmar since 1990, allowing various parties, including the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi, to participate, with foreign observers set to monitor the process. The National League for Democracy won the parliamentary elections 25 years ago, but the military government in Myanmar ignored the majority vote and kept Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for 20 years, until finally releasing her in 2010 under international pressure and sanctions from the U.S. and the EU. After that, the Myanmar military transferred power to a civilian government in 2011 after about 50 years of rule, with former general Thein Sein taking the presidency in civilian clothing. Mr. Thein then announced a political and economic reform program that was welcomed by the U.S. and Europe. Following this, Barack Obama was invited to Myanmar in 2012, where he met with both official leaders and Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the political reform program in Myanmar has progressed slowly. According to Reuters, Thein Sein, the President of Myanmar, promised that these elections would be held according to democratic standards and that the government and military would respect the election results. Aung San Suu Kyi has also expressed hope that the elections tomorrow, in which about 30 million of the 51 million population are eligible to vote, will be free and fair. However, even if the elections are conducted fairly and the National League for Democracy wins, according to Myanmar's constitution, Aung San Suu Kyi will still not be able to reach the presidency. The constitution disqualifies candidates whose relatives hold foreign citizenship from attaining this position. Ms. Suu Kyi's husband was British, and her children are also British citizens. Nevertheless, Ms. Suu Kyi hopes that her party can effectively participate in the governance of the country by winning and forming a strong faction in parliament. According to Reuters, the election laws still grant many privileges to the military. While the National League for Democracy and its allied parties need to secure two-thirds of the parliamentary seats to form a government, one-fourth of the parliamentary seats are reserved for the military, and the ruling party can still have a chance to form a government with military support even if it obtains fewer seats. According to Reuters, a large portion of the 1.1 million Muslim population of Myanmar has also been deprived of voting rights. The Myanmar government does not consider this minority as citizens of the country, claiming they are Bangladeshis. 80% of Myanmar's population is Buddhist, 4% Muslim, and the rest are Christian and followers of other religions.