The too-close-to-call Washington senate race was finally concluded. Senator Patty Murray (D) defeated her Republican challenger, Dino Rossi. This means the Senate now consists of 53 Democrats and 46 Republicans. The Alaska senate race still hasn't been decided. (Full Story)
Myanmar (Burma) held parliamentary elections on Sunday -- the first election in twenty years. However, it wasn't a free or fair election. The election was designed to guarantee victory for the allies of the military junta that has been running the country for 48 years. There was not much excitement among the voters because they felt they were simply going through the motions of voting, and that the outcome was already predetermined.
The national results have not been announced yet (probably won't be until this evening, at the earliest). But with the Union Solidarity and Development Party and The National Unity Party, which are pro-regime, fielding 80% of the candidates -- it's predicted that they will win easily. The largest opposition group that participated in the election, the National Democratic Force, were only able to field candidates in a small number of available constituencies. They fielded candidates in just 159 of the 1,157 constituencies. In addition, the junta decided in their newly created constitution that 25% of the seats in both of the two new national assemblies and the 14 regional parliaments are reserved for the military.
You may also remember that the National League for Democracy (which has been the main opposition party in Myanmar, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. They won a landslide victory the last time elections were held in 1990, but the junta refused to hand over power) decided in March that they would not take part in the election because of the unjust electoral laws. In order to participate in the election, they would have to drop Aung San Suu Kyi and other prominent party leaders from their party. The leaders of Myanmar had enacted new election laws that ban people with criminal charges from being a member of a political party or voting (and how convenient that that includes Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for being considered a dissident by the junta). The laws also banned civil servants and members of religious orders from joining political parties. With the largest opposition party boycotting the election, it's pretty easy to win. Suu Kyi did not vote, she remains under house arrest, but her sentence is due to end this Saturday (how convenient that it was after the election). We'll see if they do release her, or if they'll find some other way to keep her under house arrest.
Most international monitors and journalists were barred by the rulers of Myanmar. The leaders of Myanmar instead invited a group of diplomats of their own choosing to observe the election process. The group of diplomats was led by the North Korean ambassador...That's right, North Korea -- as in, the beacon of democracy. Observers of the election say that there did not appear to be overt intimidation of voters to get them to vote for pro-junta parties. However, even if this is true (which it probably isn't), many voters were afraid that authorities would be able to track their votes, and that they would face consequences for voting for the opposition. The chairman of the National Democratic Force, the largest opposition party that participated in the election, filed a complaint alleging that pro-junta parties forced people to cast advance votes in their favor. The United States and the international community have criticized the elections.
Some analysts say that although the election was not fair, at least there was some progress. The fact that an election was even held, and that a parliament was created is a step forward. Analysts say that any process that leads to a dilution of Myanmar's military control presents at least some wiggle room for progress in the future. Having a parliament could provide an opening for movements towards democracy. The deputy director of Amnesty International's Asia program explained, "There may be slightly more political space if the other parties win some seats." (Full Story)
In other news, fighting between ethnic rebels and Myanmar government troops has broken out and at least 15,000 refugees have fled into Thailand. Groups representing the ethnic minorities, who make up 40% of the population, had warned in recent days that a civil war could erupt if the military tries to impose its highly centralized constitution and deprive them of rights. (Full Story)
The New York Times has a heartbreaking story of Afghan women that commit suicide by burning themselves in order to escape their hard lives filled with poverty and abuse. "It is shameful here to admit to troubles at home, and mental illness often goes undiagnosed or untreated...The choices for Afghan women are extraordinarily restricted: Their family is their fate. There little chance for education, little choice about whom a woman marries, no choice at all about her role in her own house. Her primary job is to serve her husband's family. Outside that world, she is an outcast." The hospital in Herat is the only medical center in Afghanistan that specializes in treating burn victims, and the hospital has experienced a 30% increase from last year of women arriving with burns. Most of the women that are brought in have self-inflicted wounds. However, in some instances (usually the most sinister burn cases), the burn cases are actually homicides, but the family tries to pass it off as a suicide attempt. (Full Story)
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