291USDP triumph, amid numerous reports of serious interference with the
voting process. The UN called the election ‘deeply fl awed’ and many oth-
er respected commentators (among them US President Barack Obama
and British Ambassador to Burma, Andrew Heyn) expressed concerns
that it was neither free nor fair.
However, most of the new political parties and civil capacity building
organisations (civic value educational bodies), such as Myanmar Egress
(www.myanmaregress.org) fervently believe that participating in the
election was worthwhile – however fl awed the result may have been. In
their view, a ‘political space’ had opened up for them for the fi rst time
in two decades. These groups are now looking towards the next election,
scheduled for 2015, as a chance to expand that space. One hopeful devel-
opment was the government’s initiation of talks with NLD leader Aung
San Suu Kyi in August 2011.
A New Government?
Under the 2008 constitution Myanmar is divided into seven regions
(where the Bamar are in the majority) and seven states (minority re-
gions, namely Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhaing and Shan
States). In addition there are six ethnic enclaves (Danu, Kokang, Naga,
Palaung, Pa-O and Wa) with a degree of self-governance.
A quarter of the seats both at the national and state level are reserved
for unelected military candidates; this gives the military a casting vote
on any constitutional change because these require a parliamentary ma-
jority of more than 75%. One outcome of the election is that in four of the
seven state legislatures (Chin, Kayin, Rakhaing and Shan) ethnic parties
hold over 25% of the seats, theoretically allowing them to call special ses-
sions or initiate impeachment proceedings against local public offi cials.
The graphics
above are based
on data from the
CIA World Fact
Book, which dif-
fers from the data
of the Myanmar
government; see
p 316 for more on
MyanmarSTATISTICS
belief systems
(% of population)
ChristianBuddhist MuslimAnimist & Other89
44 368 would be Bamar 3 would be Chinese
9 would be Shan 2 would be Indian
7 would be Kayin (Karen) 2 would be Mon
4 would be Rakhaing 5 would be otherif Myanmar (Burma)
were 100 peopleTop Downloads Top Fiction^
Irrawaddy (www.irrawaddy.org)
Focuses on politics and culture.
Mizzima (www.mizzima.com)
A nonprofi t news service run by
Myanmar journalists in exile.
Transnational Institute (www.
tinyurl.com/4y2vphq) Politics
and social issues.
Burmese Days George Orwell
depicts small-town Burma of
the 1920s, damning colonialism
along the way.
The Glass Palace Amitav
Ghosh’s novel is a fi ctional-
ised, but accurate, account of
Burma’s history.The Piano Tuner Daniel Ma-
son’s elegant adventure story is
about a London piano tuner who
heads off into Burma’s jungles
in the 1880s to repair a famous
instrument.