Myanmar Can Work Together or Play the Blame Game


The November 2015 election is the largest election held in the history of Myanmar in every way. It is the largest in terms of the number of candidates (6189), the number of political parties (93), the number of registered voters (23 million), the number of female candidates (13 percent) and the number of independent candidates (323). In addition, for the first time Myanmar has accepted external assistance and international election monitoring.

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Securing Peace a Monumental First Step for Myanmar


On 15 October 2015, the Myanmar government and eight ethnic organisations signed the final version of a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). The agreement had been under negotiation since August 2011 and is one of the key political outcomes of Myanmar’s transition period under President Thein Sein. During the 1990s, the former military regime signed several separate ceasefires with individual ethnic groups. Never before has Myanmar had a single, nationwide peace agreement of any kind. So will it be enough to secure peace?

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There is Opposition to Myanmar’s Rule of Law, but to What End?


Since 2012, many things have changed in Myanmar, or Burma. The more noticeable changes have involved the government removing repressive measures imposed on a recalcitrant public: print media censorship; prohibitions on trade unions, political parties, or human rights groups; roadblocks on the approaches to the lakeside house of democracy doyen Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon.

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Increasing Myanmar’s FDI Still Faces Many Challenges


Following five decades of rule by socialist and military governments, under which the country became one of the least developed countries in the world, a new chapter of Myanmar’s engagement with the international community opened in March 2011. While the previous regime denied that poverty existed in Myanmar, the new government acknowledged the problem and made addressing it a key economic policy priority.

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Breaking Myanmar’s Election Corruption Cycle


Largely ignoring problems over the decades, Myanmar has a long record of electoral corruption and fraud. Electoral corruption undermines the domestic legitimacy and authority of Myanmar’s governments and governance. Therefore, authorities should act as quickly as possible to regulate corruption to manage the negative externalities arising from elections in Myanmar.

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Signs of a Credible Election in Myanmar


Much uncertainty surrounds the lead up to and conduct of Myanmar’s upcoming legislative elections. The recent voting down of constitutional amendments in parliament — almost certainly (and solely) by the bloc of appointed, non-elected military parliamentarians — erodes to a certain extent the legitimacy of the electoral process.

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Myanmar’s Economy Likely on Hold until November Elections


The second general election since Myanmar began its political transition in 2011 will be held on Sunday 8 November 2015. Around 30 million Myanmar voters — at home and abroad — may be eligible to vote in one of the larger worldwide, single-stage voting events. But what the election means for Myanmar’s continued democratic transition remains unknown.

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Myanmar’s Government Considering a Constitutional Amendment, but too Late for the Next Election


Constitutional reform is an important part of Myanmar’s transition from military rule. Although widespread political reforms have been enacted since 2011, these have not yet been accompanied by constitutional change. The next few months will determine whether constitutional amendment will take place before the elections scheduled in November. This will affect the very legitimacy of the election itself.

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The International View of Myanmar’s Plight


Half a year before critical elections, tensions are mounting in Myanmar, its borders and great power relations.

Recently, hundreds of Myanmese students protesting a controversial education bill have been locked in a standoff with security forces. Washington has expressed concerns about their arrests.  

Meanwhile, thousands of refugees have entered in Yunnan as a result of fights between Myanmar’s army and local communists. As a result, China has asked Myanmar to “lower temperature” on the border.

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Myanmar’s Democratization Faces another Challenge


It’s election year in Myanmar, the big test for the country’s aspiring democratic transition. Among the spirited national debates, there are four controversial pieces of legislation currently under consideration in Myanmar’s Assembly of the Union parliament (the Pyidaungsu hluttaw). These reportedly aim to protect race and religion. But in truth, the bills represent a setback for religious freedom and women’s rights and — if adopted — are likely to deepen existing religious divides, threaten the reform agenda and stir violence prior to the elections.

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