These reforms were based on a mixture of Buddhist principles coupled
with Marxist economic thinking. In 1974 , the BRC handed over power to an
elected government in accordance with a new constitution establishing Burma as
a one-party socialist unitary state. The state was led by the Burmese Socialist
Programme Party (BSPP) which General Ne Win established with his BRC
cadres. Under this constitution, representation was based on a four-tier hierarchy
elected once every four years. The legislature comprised the people’s councils
(covering the ward/village, township and state/division levels) and the Pyithu
Hluttaw (People’s Assembly). As a one-party state, the ‘election’ of candidates
was more akin to a Stalinist confirmation of party nominees. The BSPP ruled
Burma from 1974 to 1988.
In September 1987 , Ne Win ordered the cancellation of certain currency notes,
causing a major meltdown in the economy. This seemingly irrational move was
triggered by General Ne Win’s superstition. Since the number nine was his lucky
number, General Ne Win only allowed forty-five and ninety kyat notes in circula-
tion (since they were divisible by nine). The savings of many Burmese were wiped
out overnight. By August 1988 , the country was seething with resentment against
police repression and the economic miasma. On 8 August, widespread riots broke
out throughout the country, and the armed forces, under General Saw Maung,
staged a coup d’e ́tat to restore order. The 8888 Uprising saw thousands killed by the
military. The country once again came under martial law and the 1974 constitution
was swept aside. A military government comprising generals loyal to General Ne
Win – the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) – took power and
ruled with Saw Maung as chairman and prime minister. All organs of state were
abolished, as was the law establishing Burma as a one-party state.^11
Although the SLORC announced that multiparty elections would be held soon
after political stability was restored, it was not till 27 May 1990 that this promise was
carried out. A total of ninety-three political parties took part in the 1990 elections,
which saw the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi,
win nearly 60 per cent of the votes cast and 81 per cent of the seats in the National
Assembly – which was never convened. The SLORC-backed National Unity
Party – successor to the BSPP – won only 2 per cent of the votes and 10 per cent
of the seats in the National Assembly. Dejected by these results, the SLORC
announced that the Assembly would not be convened until a ‘firm constitution’
was drafted. Until such time, SLORC would retain power. This new condition
clearly went against earlier promises by SLORC chairman and prime minister
Senior General Saw Maung to hand over power to the winning party in the
elections and return to the barracks.
(^11) See Myint Zan, ‘Myanmar (Burma): from parliamentary system to constitutionless and con-
stituonalized one-party and military rule’, in Clauspeter Hill and Jo ̈rg Menzel (eds.),Constitu-
tionalism in Southeast Asia(Singapore: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2008 ), p. 189 at 194.