Not the Will of the People

From the very beginning of the election process, there was a lack of genuine effort to carry out free or fair elections that would truly represent the will of the people. The military regime controlled the elections at all levels, from selecting the members of the Union Election Commission, to influencing the public with propaganda and threats via state media outlets, to campaigning for the regime-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). From very early on, it was apparent that the upcoming “elected” government would not reflect the will of the people. The military regime exhausted all means to ensure that its proxy parties will dominate the new parliament. Preliminary reports already indicate that the USDP has won a large majority, despite the lack of public support.

This fundamental flaw in the elections was exemplified in the lack of willing public participation and access to polling stations on the day of the elections. While some voters have been prevented from exercising their right to vote due to limited access to polling booths, others were completely excluded from the process, as polls were not held in more than 3,400 ethnic villages deemed to be lacking the “conditions” for “free and fair elections.” Further, based on personal accounts collected by Burma Election Tracker, the majority of the people refused to participate in the polls as they either believed that their vote would not change the result, or because they fundamentally rejected the illegitimate polls. Boycotting is a particularly brave act in the context of Burma, where a simple act of abstaining from voting could lead to significant violence and harassment.

Sub-Categories
• No voting allowed
• No access to polling station
• Boycott
(Click on links to view all reports tagged with the subcategories)