18 MARCH 2015
Myanmar approaches a turning point in the year of 2015. A general election is scheduled for late in the year. Parliament members occupying over 1,100 seats in the two houses (the Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw) of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (the Union Parliament) and in region/state legislatures will be up for re-election. As in any country that holds elections, the general election is a major event for Myanmar’s national politics. Here, however, it is more than just that: it will be the first Burmese general election since the country made global news by transitioning to “civilian” rule in March 2011.