Generals’ Road Map to Power after the Elections

July 5, 2010

Although the regime is allowing non-regime sponsored political parties to form for the 2010 elections, the Generals already have their grip on power through its main power base political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). All the leaders in this new party are SPDC generals, and is based from a well-known regime controlled social organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which claims it has 20 million members countrywide.

The USDP intends to get all possible votes from the USDA members by all means. For over 10 years the USDA has forcibly registered all students at high schools, universities and colleges, and both retired and active government servants are also members. The USDA structure permeates all levels of government, from wards and villages, to districts to States and Divisions. Most military leaders are the chairmen of all States and Divisions level USDA positions. Therefore, the USDP is guaranteed 100% a majority win in the coming elections, through the support of the USDA.

While non-regime supported political organizations including ethnic political parties are struggling for party registration, gathering membership and seeking sufficient funding, the USDA has the full support from the current military government. They have sufficient funding for campaigning and they have existing networks to get ‘advanced votes’ for the USDP. Currently, the USDA is using a dirt and trick strategy of collecting all advanced votes from its members in order to make sure USDP will win in the elections.

As a result, it is already clear that we know who will win in this ‘unfair and not-free’ 2010 election. The USDP will win in majority as the regime did in the 2008 people’s referendum for the constitution; They will coordinate with 25% army representatives automatically guaranteed in the constitution, in both the Senate, the House of Representatives, and 33% army representatives guaranteed in each State or Division level parliament. They will hold absolute power. Non-regime supported political parties, even in the ethnic regions, could not win over 20 to 25% of the seats.

There will be a multi-party parliamentary political system in Burma, but it will not be democratized because the regime did not provide a space for democrats and ethnic representatives (National League for Democracy led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Union Nationalities Alliance of ethnic political parties) in the election. The parliaments will be quiet with no opposition voice and no debate. The USDP will form a new government and army representatives will ensure there will be no oppositions in parliament. The Burmese Army will stand outside of the parliament and ready to seize power if there is democratic movement or instability on the streets. A new parliamentary dictatorship political system will take place in Burma and the people will continue to face similar social and economic difficulties that they do today.