Myanmar Kicks Off Election Campaigning Amid Rising Virus Cases
Myanmar Kicks Off Election Campaigning Amid Rising Virus Cases
(Bloomberg) -- Myanmar’s general election campaign kicked off on Tuesday ahead of a vote scheduled for Nov. 8 as concerns grow over a rise in Covid-19 infections in one of Southeast Asia’s poorest countries.
After months of recording fewer than 10 cases a day, Myanmar’s infections have more than tripled since Aug. 25 to 1,610 as of Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports. The increase has already forced state counselor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to cancel what would have been her first campaign event, with other parties following suit or opting to virtual events.
Suu Kyi, 75, and her ruling National League for Democracy remain the front-runners for re-election after sweeping to power in a historic vote that unseated the military-linked government five years ago. She now faces a stiffer challenge from a slew of ethnic parties and upstarts, including one launched by former student activists and another by ex-military leaders.
“I don’t think there’s very much doubt that they’ll win the election,” said Richard Horsey, a Yangon-based political analyst and senior Myanmar adviser with the International Crisis Group. “But that doesn’t mean that there’s universal support for the NLD and particularly in some ethnic areas I think there will be challenges.”
The National League for Democracy’s central information committee secretary, Monywa Aung Shin, said the party was confident of winning 70% of the seats and forming government. “Our attitude towards Tatmadaw remains the same -- we want them to focus on defense services rather than playing a role in politics,” he said, referring to the military’s name in Myanmar.
Minority Parties
Of the 92 political groups contesting in the upcoming election, more than half are ethnic and minority parties, according to the Union Election Commission.
Suu Kyi remains popular although her government has struggled to quell longstanding ethnic conflicts while dealing with a still-powerful military apparatus that controls 25% of all seats in the federal and regional parliaments. Both Suu Kyi and the military face international pressure for their roles in an alleged genocide against the country’s minority Muslim Rohingya population.
In a manifesto released earlier this month, the Suu Kyi’s party promises include prioritizing an end to decades-long conflicts and the formation of a constitution that will lead to a genuine democratic federal union.
“The NLD’s electoral performance will be determined by the way that it has managed the economy, its record on amending the 2008 constitution, the increased armed conflict in various parts of the country, the deadlock in the nationwide peace process and the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said a report published on Tuesday by The ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a research group based in Singapore.
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