The Political Landscape of the Old Capital

By HTET AUNG

The real competition centers on the USDP and the NUP to contest the upcoming election for the parliament of Rangoon Division. Will Rangoon residents support either state-backed party, given their history with the regime?


Residents of Rangoon, Burma's former capital, will choose their own representatives for local parliament and also vote for the national parliaments, the People's Parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw) and Nationalities Parliament (Amyotha Hluttaw).

Rangoon is the home of the country's democratic movement, which in 1988 ended socialism by toppling the then socialist government that had ruled the country for 26 years. The city has also been home to countless student demonstrations for freedom and the scene of thousands of innocent deaths perpetrated by the military regime.


After two decades, the voter population in Rangoon has been drastically altered. This election will see new younger voters who couldn't cast their ballots in the 1990 election because they were under 18 years old.

Youth who were days or months under age 18 on the election day on May 27, 1990, are now around 38 years old—adults who have never had the opportunity to vote.

Some Burma political observers said the democracy torch was handed over to this new generation during the 2007 Buddhist monk-led demonstrations, as a new generation proved that they had not been left behind in the pro-democracy movement of the country.
Many observers are wondering, in the absence of the strongest democratic party, the NLD, which party will this new generation of Rangoon voters support?

According to the Election Commission list of candidates running for parliamentary seats in Rangoon Division, there are 458 candidates in total from 15 political parties and individuals. Rangoon has 45 seats for People's Parliament, 12 seats for Nationalities Parliament and 92 seats for the parliament of Rangoon Division.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by the incumbent prime minister and an army of recently retired military generals, will run for all seats in the three parliaments. The National Unity Party (NUP), transformed from the former ruling party in the county's socialist era, follows in second place, running in all but seven seats (see chart below).

Thirteen other parties will seek seats, but they will field a limited number of candidates in selected constituencies.

Among them, the National Democratic Force (NDF) led by some former NLD leaders will focus on candidates for People's Parliament and Nationalities Parliament to a greater extent than for the parliament of Rangoon Division. Following the NDF are the 88 Generation Student Youths (the Union of Myanmar) and the Democratic Party (Myanmar), both of which will mainly field candidates for People's Parliament.

The USDP was transformed from the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which was actively involved in helping the military to crack down on the Buddhist monks in the 2007 demonstrations. This tragic, bloody event can not be forgotten among Rangoon residents and support for the two parties will be limited to government workers and others with a vested interest in the regime.

Likewise, the NUP, which ruled the country for 26 years, oversaw an economy in which Burma was ranked among the world's Least Developed Countries (LDC) in 1987. The socio-economic life of the people has suffered from that time, leading to its defeat by the NLD in a landslide victory in the 1990 election.

According to many observers, Rangoon voters will likely search out individual parties and candidates who they believe will truly represent their desires, while others may follow the advice of some NLD leaders and boycott the election.