Burma heads into a
historic by-election today heavy with the weight of expectation, but filled
with the hope that it will mark another step towards a bright future.
Observers are looking for signs of how far the country has come since
its widely discredited polls in 2010, as well as what to expect in the next
general election in 2015.
"This election is more about the process than the results,"
said Dr Alistair Cook, a visiting research fellow at the East Asian Institute,
National University of Singapore.
More than 200 foreign observers, who have been allowed into Burma
during an election for the first time, will be watching for the kind of alleged
irregularities or vote fraud that marred the results of the last general
election in 2010, and called into question the resounding victory of the
military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
A clean election could lead to the lifting of Western sanctions, which
have severely hampered Burma's economy for decades.
While 17 parties and several independents are contesting 45 seats, the
battle is being pitched as the lion versus peacock - the animals represent the
ruling USDP and top opposition party National League for Democracy (NLD)
respectively.
The USDP and NLD are expected to win the majority of seats, with the
possible exception of those in ethnic areas, which will likely be won by local
ethnic parties.
In the lead-up to the polls, the NLD's visibility has been the highest,
in part thanks to its heavyweight candidate Aung San Suu Kyi, who is running
for a seat in southern Yangon. Its slate of young candidates - which includes a
hip hop artist - has stirred the imagination of the nation's young.
The NLD's stickers, flags and banners are more ubiquitous than those of
other parties. Roadside stalls are doing brisk business selling T-shirts,
posters, scarves, badges and stickers plastered with the face of the Nobel
Peace laureate.
NLD supporters also made the most noise in the northern city of
Mandalay yesterday, where pick-up trucks and motorcycles circled the city late
into the night, sounding horns and blaring songs about the party and Suu Kyi.
Residents predict the NLD will win at least two-thirds of the seats.
But the NLD is up against the might of the ruling USDP, which has size
and resources. It is selling "stability and development", as some
leaders dismiss the NLD's promises as "just talk".
"People will vote for USDP because the ruling party can do more
for them. We have many members and they will support us tomorrow," USDP
candidate Than Thun told The Sunday Times. The former army officer is
contesting a seat in Maha Aung Mye in Mandalay city, and predicts that he has a
"60 per cent chance" of victory at the polls.
Polling centres set up in schools, prayer halls and other community
centres opened at 6am today.
At her final public address last Friday, Suu Kyi said the outcome will
"very much influence" what happens in 2015. "So we don't have to
wait that long to find out in which direction Myanmar will be going," she
said.
An editorial in the weekly Myanmar Times said: "These by-elections
represent an opportunity to banish the disappointment that many experienced in
2010. A free, fair and transparent poll would mark another important step
forward on the path towards reconciliation."
Teo Cheng Wee
The Straits Times
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
No comments:
Post a Comment