Other Important Matters Concerning the General Election
There are other important matters concerning the general election besides a transfer of power. Let us address four of them. First is the fundamental issue of whether Myanmar will truly run a free and fair election. Sensing a crisis, the USDP might join with the government to run a campaign that borders on vote-buying (like when it requested votes in the 2010 general election in exchange for promises of road construction). There is a possibility that cash will be distributed more directly and we can predict the USDP will use the state-run media to conduct a negative campaign against the opposition parties. However, the level of international attention on this general election will be high, and if the USDP uses its status as the current ruling party to unfairly interfere in the election, then on top of the domestic backlash there will be an inevitable drop in faith from abroad in Myanmar’s reforms. The reaction from the West in particular would probably be considerably negative. It is hard to imagine, considering the proactive stance the President has taken on improving relations with the West, that he would rashly interfere in the general election, but on the other hand, the ruling party and the business community are wary of a power transfer to the NLD which has little experience in government administration, so the situation is still unpredictable. Some are calling for an electoral alliance or coalition between the USDP and NLD in the run-up to balloting.
Secondly, a free and fair election is not an issue that concerns the government alone. It will also become a big challenge for civil society. There is no time for violent partisan clashes caused by electioneering, as when sectarian and ethnic disputes flared up in some areas of Indonesia in 1999 during the country’s first general election after instituting democracy. There is a high likelihood of violent disputes arising if a government’s ability to govern is weak and its society is deeply divided. In Myanmar’s case it is difficult to imagine a situation in which the state would crumble because of an election, but we cannot deny the possibility that during the election campaign the political parties or candidates may engage in radical nationalistic speech or religiously biased discourse. This could lead to violent clashes. Moreover, it is difficult to expect the police or other government institutions to have the ability to adequately suppress violence, given what we have seen in clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the past few years. We must also pay attention to the trends in civil society vis-à-vis the general election.
Thirdly, even if the general election is free and fair and the NLD becomes the top party, that does not immediately mean democracy has been introduced. There are numerous undemocratic provisions in the 2008 Constitution. Changing them requires the consent of at least three-fourths of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. Three-quarters of its parliament members are chosen in the general election, while the remaining quarter are military personnel appointed by the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. In other words, the Armed Forces have the right to reject constitutional amendments, and institutionally they can select military personnel to be President and one of the two Vice Presidents. Thus the system has been designed so that in a strict sense, democracy cannot arise without the authorization of the Armed Forces. There is strong criticism of this setup both domestically and from abroad. The NLD, too, has always criticized it. If power changes hands in the 2015 general election, it will put pressure on the Armed Forces, and if the NLD can become the top party or form a ruling coalition without the USDP, then, even if they cannot amend the Constitution, they can pass laws through ordinary legislative activity. If that happens, then it will create a tense relationship between the NLD and the Armed Forces within the government and the legislative branch, which could possibly cause political instability.
Lastly, the conclusion of Myanmar’s long-running civil war will also bear on the 2015 general election. Governance after the transition to “civilian” rule was a process of agreeing to make the 2008 Constitution the basic rules for state administration and politics. However, armed groups of ethnic minorities have still not been subsumed into this new framework. Many of them have never been under the effective control of the state since the entirety of Myanmar gained independence in 1948. The Communist Party and the ethnic minority forces that staged armed uprisings had established bases along the national border, and within Myanmar there had been continuous fighting between the Myanmar Armed Forces and these armed groups. In addition to political and economic reforms, an important political issue after the 2011 shift to “civilian” rule was establishing a ceasefire agreement with these ethnic minorities. Until now, under the leadership of the President, Myanmar has held countless meetings to reach a national ceasefire agreement, and the government and armed groups have sought out conditions for a ceasefire agreement. However, just among those stakeholders with the influence to join in the negotiations there are more than 15 armed groups, so it is not easy to accommodate all their interests. Not only that, but there are still armed clashes erupting between the military and armed groups in Kachin State along the Chinese border and in Karen State along the Thai border. Thein Sein had originally sought to reach a ceasefire agreement in 2013, but it seems it will still take much time. The desirable scenario for the government is probably one in which some of the armed groups integrate with the military, while the others turn into political parties and participate in the Union Parliament election and in region/state legislature elections in 2015. The circumstances make it quite difficult for this scenario to become a reality. Even so, attention will be fixed on whether some of the armed groups will lay aside their weapons and begin adopting a more peaceful approach by participating in politics.