Burma's parliamentary and by- elections
- 45 seats in the national legislature are being contested.
- 160 candidates from 17 parties and eight independents are running.
- Legislature comprised of 440 seat lower house, 224 seat senate, 14 regional assemblies.
- 25 percent of seats chosen by armed forces commander and reserved for military personnel.
- The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 76 percent of the vote in 2010.
- Constitution limits lawmakers' powers.
Burma is finalizing arrangements Saturday for Sunday's historic election when pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was under house arrest just over a year ago, is likely to be voted into parliament in the military-dominated country.
Her participation in the polling has been made possible by a fragile detente with a government that has embarked on surprising democratic reforms over the last several months.
Sunday's vote is for only a small minority of seats in national and regional legislatures, but it has not diminished the outpouring of enthusiasm for Aung San Suu Kyi - whom the government tried to silence for two decades - and her National League for Democracy party.
The Nobel Peace laureate said Friday she does not expect Burma's election to be fair, but still significant.
A Look at some of major political parties for the April 1st by-election:
National League for Democracy
- Aung San Suu Kyi's party was founded in 1988 after a popular uprising
- Won the 1990 parliamentary elections in a landslide but results never recognized by the military regime
- Boycotted 2010 elections and was stripped of legal party status
- Contesting 44 seats
| Union Solidarity and Development Party
- Current ruling party
- Formed by current President Thein Sein and other members of military junta
- Won vast majority in 2010 election
- Contesting all 45 seats
- It will retain its majority in parliament regardless of the results
|
National Democratic Force
- Formed by breakaway NLD members
- Won several seats in the 2010 election
- Contesting about 10 seats
| Shan Nationalities League for Democracy
- The second largest winning party in the 1990 elections
- Boycotted the 2010 elections
- Often sides with Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD party
|
Shan Nationalities Democratic Party
- Widely known as the White Tiger Party
- Won 57 seats in the 2010 elections
- Contesting seats in only a handful of constituencies
| National Unity Party
- Formed bythe military junta and members of the former Burma Socialist Program Party
- Defeated badly by the NLD in 1990 elections
- Fielded the second highest number of candidates in the 2010 election but defeated badly again
|
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
No comments:
Post a Comment