As a native of Myanmar and a researcher on the country’s politics for many years, I see tomorrow's election as an indicator of democracy in the making. However, Myanmar needs to develop its democratic institutions further.
During my field trip to Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw in 2014, there were still only a few parties that had decided to compete in the election. Even the National League for Democracy (NLD) was yet to decide whether it would participate in the electoral process. Now as many as 92 political parties are in the fray.
While there is some excitement and expectations, there are also lingering concerns about the election, such as polling cancellations, advance-voting fraud, and the exclusion of hundreds of thousands of people having a chance to vote in the polls.
Due to security reasons, the Union Election Commission has cancelled voting in several hundred village tracts across Kachin state, Karen state, Mon state, Shan state and the Bago region.
Civil servants, Myanmar nationals living overseas and tens of thousands of soldiers have been casting their votes. There are concerns that the authorities might engage in ballot stuffing. One major international concern is the exclusion of about 760,000 Muslims, most of whom are Rohingya from Rakhine state.
While the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is counting on the support of the military and the ultra-nationalist Buddhists, the NLD is criticised for avoiding speaking out about human rights abuses suffered by the country’s Muslims. The NLD is also accused of appeasing rising anti-Muslim sentiment fuelled by the Ma Ba Tha hardline Buddhist nationalist monks.
Indeed, Aung San Suu Kyi has been less vocal on human rights issues since she decided to run for the 2012 by-election. As the NLD wants to win a majority of seats in the predominantly Buddhist country, the party balances its position in a way that it will not be seen as a pro-Muslim party.
Distancing herself from human rights, one of the core issues Ms Suu Kyi had stood for during her years of house arrest, has done some damage to her reputation. However, the vast majority of people in the country still see her to be a more trustworthy leader than her contemporaries.
The situation could certainly have been different had Ms Suu Kyi decided to remain a pro-democracy icon and advocate; had Ms Suu Kyi not been so ambitious to lead the country; and had the Muslim population been large enough to secure a majority of seats in parliament.
Despite criticism, the NLD is expected to do well in the election. However, the party is unlikely to muster an overwhelming majority similar to the 1990 general election and the 2012 by-election. This is partly due to the burgeoning of several political parties from the erstwhile pro-democracy forces, including ethnic-based parties.
Given the fierce competition between the two dominant parties — the NLD and the USDP — the role of ethnic-based parties is likely to be important. But ethnic minorities have reduced their potential dominant role considerably by joining one of the two major national parties.
If the NLD forms the next government, either by itself or with coalition partners, it is clear that its chairperson Ms Suu Kyi will not be the country’s next president. Article 59(f) of the constitution states that if one of your “legitimate children… owes allegiance to a foreign power” you are disqualified. That covers both Ms Suu Kyi’s sons, who are British citizens.
It is possible that the NLD will nominate one of Ms Suu Kyi’s long-time associates, such as Tin Oo. He is a retired general and former commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Union of Myanmar, who has been a colleague of Ms Suu Kyi since the NLD's formation in 1988.
Regardless of who assumes presidency in the NLD-led government, Ms Suu Kyi will remain the main architect of the administration. She has unequivocally expressed her desire to lead the government despite knowing she is constitutionally barred from becoming the country’s president.
Even if Ms Suu Kyi has the most authoritative power in the NLD-led government, her authority will still be limited by the constitution. Since 25% of parliamentarians will be military representatives, she will have to find a way to amend or replace the constitution outside parliament or by convincing the military leadership, which will be quite a challenge.
On the other hand, if the USDP forms the next government, things are unlikely to be much different from the current government.
There are a few names such as Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Htay Oo, co-chairman of the USDP, and Shwe Mann, speaker of the House of Representatives, who can assume the role of president.
However, given the past five-year record of the USDP government under President Thein Sein and the present state of the peace process with ethnic armed groups, it is likely that Thein Sein will be nominated again for president, unless he is ostracised by the military leadership, or if he voluntarily decides to retire from politics.
Moreover, Thein Sein has managed to convince many in the international community that he is committed to ending the world’s longest-running civil war by signing a nationwide ceasefire with some ethnic armed groups.
It is important to note, however, that as long as the 2008 constitution is not amended or replaced, the dominant role of the military will continue, which means Myanmar’s democratisation process will remain inconclusive and there is a danger of it becoming a defective democracy.