Voting ends in Myanmar election
Polling stations close in country’s first elections in 20 years with odds heavily stacked against opposition parties.
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At least six parties have lodged complaints with the election commission claiming fraud [Reuters] |
Polling stations have closed in Myanmar’s first election in 20 years, amid a barrage of criticism that the balloting was rigged in favour of the ruling military.
The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has not said when the results will be announced, saying only that they could come “in time”.
It was almost certain, however, that through pre-election engineering the USDP will emerge victorious despite widespread popular opposition to 48 years of military rule.
Sunday’s election was held amid tight security, but few expect it to bring any real change in power, with the military and its proxies likely to dominate parliament and senior positions.
In the commercial hub of Yangon on Sunday, armed riot police stood guard at near-empty polling booths or patrolled streets in convoys of military lorries, part of a clampdown that includes bans on foreign media and on outside election monitors.
The carefully choreographed end of direct army rule, marred by complex rules that stifled major pro-democracy forces, enters its final stage in a race largely between two powerful military-backed parties running virtually unopposed.
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi remains locked up and two pro-military parties are together fielding about two-thirds of the total candidates, leaving the splintered opposition with little chance of success.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner swept her party to power in 1990 but the result was never recognised by the ruling generals. She has been detained for most of the past 20 years and is supporting a boycott of Sunday’s election.
The USDP is the military’s political party, fielding 27 incumbent ministers, top-heavy with recently retired generals.
The USDP dominated the campaign, contesting all 1,158 seats up for grabs. Its only real rival is the National Unity Party (NUP), another vehicle for the military, running in 980 seats.
Fraud charges
At least six parties have lodged complaints with the election commission, claiming hundreds of state workers were forced to vote for the pro-military USDP in advance balloting.
On Saturday, the All Mon Region Democracy Party and the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) accused the military-backed USDP of “cheating” and “threatening” voters.
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They said they plan to contest the election results if their complaints are not investigated.
“There has been widespread fraud and malpractice committed by the USDP in advance voting across the country,” Khin Maung Swe, a spokesman for the pro-democracy National Democratic Force, the largest opposition party, told Al Jazeera.
“We democratic parties will have to take appropriate action after the elections,” he added.
Twenty-five per cent of seats in all chambers are reserved for serving generals. That means an army-backed party needs to win only 26 per cent of the remaining seats for the junta’s allies to control the country’s national legislature.
But Khin Maung Swe underlined the importance of participating in the election.
“If one or two persons can get into the parliament, then we make a voice for the people,” he said.
“We know that after so many years of resistance, it does not work and we need to work from the inside. This can only be achieved inside the parliament and not on the streets.”
Low turnout
Nearly 40 parties are contesting the elections for a bicameral national parliament and 14 regional assemblies. Except the USDP and NUP, none have enough candidates to earn any real stake due to a host of restrictions such as high fees for each candidate.
Still, some analysts say the elections will create a framework for a democratic system that might yield changes in years ahead in a country bestowed with rich natural resources and located strategically between rising powers China and India.
Some 29 million people were registered to vote.
But Western governments say the elections are flawed, designed to perpetuate the rule by the military junta. Some have described the process as a “sham”.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Zaw Oo, a Myanmar analyst at Chang Mai University, indicated voters did not seem greatly enthusiastic over the vote.
“The low voter turnout is a reality that opposition parties are facing but we have to wait and see the election results,” he said.
“We hope that these will be out soon.”
The vote will not bring an end to Western sanctions but could reduce Myanmar’s isolation in Asia at a time when neighbouring China has dramatically increased investments in natural gas and other resources in the former British colony also known as Burma.
“You look at Burma holding flawed elections today that once again expose the abuses of the military junta,” Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, said in a speech in Melbourne, Australia.
“It’s heartbreaking because the people of Burma deserve so much better,” she said.