TNI/BCN Burma policy briefing 2 - Burma's 2010 Elections: Challenges and Opportunities

The joint Transnational Institute (TNI) and Burma Centrum Netherlands (BCN) initiative today releases its second Burma Policy Briefing on ethnic conflict and the 2010 elections.

This second TNI-BCN briefing 'Burma's 2010 Elections: Challenges and Opportunities' provides an overview of the more significant challenges and opportunities, discusses the political dynamics in the lead up to the polls, and suggests some post-election scenarios.

in 2010, Burma (Myanmar) will hold its first elections in twenty years. These have been widely dismissed internationally as a charade, and Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy have refused to participate, condemning the governing legislation as “unfair” and “unjust”.

However, despite the very obvious flaws in the process, it represents the most significant political transformation for a generation. New leaders and a new political landscape will emerge, giving rise to opportunities to push for change, as well as a new set of challenges.

It will also have a crucial impact on the ethnic question: either by setting the scene for further tension and violence or by opening the space for discussing ethnic grievances. This paper provides an overview of the more significant challenges and opportunities, discusses the political dynamics in the lead-up to the polls, and suggests some possible post-election scenarios.