Burma is preparing to hold general elections this Sunday, reports World Politics Review: an occasion that might have marked a significant milestone in its ongoing transition from decades of military rule. Yet the consensus today is that Burma’s democratic transition has stalled—if it can even be said to be transitioning at all.
“I know that there are people trying to make excuses for the NLD [National League for Democracy], but the fact is that they do have this power, and they can exercise it, and they are choosing not to,” said Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK’s Director. “And not only have they chosen not to, but we’ve seen the NLD government itself also using these repressive laws to harass, threaten, jail and arrest critics.” He added that the upcoming election “should be the final nail in the coffin of the narrative that there is a democratic transition going on.”