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This article or section contains information about a forthcoming election. Content may change dramatically as the election approaches. |
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The constitutional referendum was held in Burma (also known as Myanmar) on 10 May 2008 (24 May 2008 in some townships) according to an announcement by the State Peace and Development Council in February 2008.[1] According to the military government, the new Constitution will ensure the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy"[2]. Multi-party elections are to follow in 2010.
The constitutional referendum law was enacted and a referendum commission was set up on 26 February 2008.[3] Reportedly, the law ensures the secret casting of votes and requires a public count of the ballots to prove it is fair.[4]
The constitution draft was published and the date of the referendum finally announced on 9 April 2008. Among the changes that the referendum seeks to make are:
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Three weeks before the referendum, the front page of the state press headlined "Let's vote Yes for national interest". Many songs, poems, cartoons, and editorials urging people to vote "Yes" were in local and national news media.[6]
The opposition National League for Democracy called for people to vote No to the constitution. [8] However, the NLD claimed their campaign against the constitution was violently suppressed, with activists arrested and material confiscated. [6]
The Kachin Independence Organization, an opposition group which participated in the government's "National Convention" process, called on its members to abstain, saying the government had failed to respond to its demands. [9]
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma a few days before the referendum, and the vote was postponed to 24 May in the most severely affected areas – seven out of 26 townships in Irrawaddy Division and 40 out of 45 townships in Yangon Division. [10] United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for the referendum to be postponed in full to concentrate on the "national tragedy", but the government rejected this.[11] The Junta came under heavy criticism for diverting critical resources from survivors toward the referendum, including evicting refugees from shelters such as schools so that these can be used as polling stations.[12] Massive fraud and intimidation was also reported.[13]
There were many allegations of electoral fraud on the day of the election, including:
Opposition groups including the All Burma Monks Alliance, the 88 Generation Students and the All Burma Federation of Student Unions described the referendum as a sham. [15]
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After the first day of the referendum, the Democratic Promotion Organ of Burma and the Democratic Voice of Burma complained about election fraud. They claimed that, according to witness reports, it was practically impossible to vote for the opposition because voters were issued voting ballots that had already been marked "support" and that people declining to accept such a pre-marked ballot were sent to prison. It is also reported that there were two separate ballot boxes which were monitored by officials who could record how people voted and that this might intimidate voters or allow for later recriminations. Furthermore, as with many referenda relating to procedural matters, there is concern that many people did not understand the detail of what they were voting for in the referendum and that this might have affected the vote. The Burmese junta stated that this referendum will easily be supported.[17]
The day after the election, local media cited informal reports of referendum results as follows:[18]
Final results are not expected before the end of May.[18]
On 2008-05-15, the junta announced that the constitution had been approved by 92.4% of voters, claiming a 99% turnout in the two-thirds of the region that had held the vote.[19]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 20,786,596 | 92.4 |
| No | 1,375,480 | 6.11 |
| Total valid votes | 22,162,076 | 98.51 |
| Invalid votes | 334,584 | 1.49 |
| Total votes cast (turnout 99.07%) | 22,496,660 | 100.00 |
| Eligible voters | 22,708,434 (of 27,369,957) | |
| Source: People's Daily Online | ||
Note: These data reflect only the results of the 278 townships (out of 325) in which the referendum was held on 10 May 2008.
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