In the last national election, in May 1990, voters’ overwhelming preference for the National League for Democracy, the opposition party led by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, was followed by a brutal crackdown and two decades of harsh military rule. Now, her party is running against representatives of the former military junta.
The military-aligned party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party led by President Thein Sein, has campaigned on its record of running the government the last five years and a promise to guarantee stability.
Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s campaign has centered on strengthening the rule of law.
The new government will inherit immense problems: sectarian violence, fighting with ethnic militias, rampant cronyism and corruption, and inadequate infrastructure and financial institutions to attract foreign investment. Some parts of the country are controlled by ethnic militias, and several of Myanmar’s leading exports, including jade, opium and timber, have been tied to conflict, crime and corruption.