Election In Burma Won't Make A Difference

The military junta running Burma has decided to forge ahead with elections in November, though the process will inevitably be anything but democratic. As Jonathan Manthorpe points out, there will be no real move to civilian political rule. Instead, the process is a cynical attempt to get around international sanctions:

The head of the armed forces, Shwe, will retain more authority than the president, and will be able to dismiss any government.

All the most important and powerful ministries will be the exclusive preserve of the armed forces, and a quarter of the seats in the 440-seat parliament are assigned to the military.

At the same time, it will require a vote of more than 75 per cent of MPs to change the constitution. So the military has a veto on any changes or reforms aimed at extending civilian rule.

As a result of this sham reform and the accompanying restrictive election rules, Suu Kyi and most of the NLD refused to register to take part in the election.