Myanmar's Election

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In chronological order.

(1) Thomas Fuller and Wai Moe, One Group Caught off Guard by Vote in Myanmar: The Longtime Rulers; Painted into a corner after having promised to respect an election's results. New York Times, Nov 14, 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/1 ... anmar-election.html

Quote:

" 'All of our calculations were wrong,' U Zaw Htay, deputy director general of the office of the president, said in an interview. 'It was like a tsunami.'

"the great unanswered question was why the military leaders who controlled the country for 53 years would voluntarily hand over power.  The answer now seems to be that they never thought they would.

"Having promised to respect the election results, the governing party and military leaders have to some extent painted themselves into a corner.

a government official: "The government and the military would have had Plan A, B and C, but now Plan Z has just happened.

"They were not the only ones who got it wrong. Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, considerably underestimated its own strength.

"In 2008, they [generals] introduced a Constitution that they believed was sufficiently stacked in their favor. It reserves 25 percent of the seats in Parliament for the military, which meant that the military’s political wing needed only another 25 percent plus one to obtain a majority.  To seal the deal, the generals added a clause [anyone who has a foreign spouse or children is barred from presidency] that bars Ms Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency.

"The military seized power in a coup in 1962, but after an upheaval in 1988, it pledged to return the country to democracy. The generals made it clear it would be on their terms and at their pace.  Yet even as they followed their road map, they seemed out of step with the country’s mood.

"officials on both sides [military and main opposition NLD] denied there was [had been] any quid pro quo.

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(2) Seth Mydans, 昂山素季：从非暴力运动走向垂帘听政？纽约时报中文网 Nov 18, 2015
cn.nytimes.com/asia-pacific/20151118/c18lady/

, which is translated from

Seth Mydans, Power Emboldens Burmese Democracy Figure; Sharp assertion of new authority. New York Times, Nov 18, 2015.

Quote:

"what some see as her domineering, imperious style

"Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership style was evident in the marching orders she gave members of her party during and after the election. She kept her candidates on a short leash, making them her direct proxies, much as she plans to do with Myanmar’s next president.  'Candidates were not allowed to speak about themselves,' said U Phyo Min Thein, a ranking member of her party. 'Just the party line. And voters were told to ignore the candidate and just vote for the party. Even a dead man was elected.'  Ms Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters acknowledge a certain highhandedness, but the most ardent do not see it as a fault.

"Although her party will control the legislature, the military is still a powerful force, commanding the key ministries of defense, border affairs and home affairs.  So far the military has been remarkably gracious in defeat, which stuns many Burmese who have lived through the repression and violence of a police state. 'Why didn’t they just do this 30 years ago?' asked one former teacher.

Note: highhanded (adj): "having or showing no regard for the rights, concerns, or feelings of others : ARBITRARY, OVERBEARING"
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/highhanded