Bad news for democracy in Burma

Here’s a quick update on my report last night which looked at Yuzar Maw Htun’s attempt to get elected to the national “People’s Parliament” of Burma.

Ms Htun was running as an independent pro-democracy candidate for a constituency in Rangoon, Burma’s largest city. She faced what many of us would regard as quite extraordinary campaign restrictions in her battle to get elected.

For example, she told us that everything she said to potential voters had to be “pre-approved”, seven days in advance, by the military regime in Burma. She told us this rule made it very difficult if people came to her with questions.

“I don’t want to read from a sheet of paper,” she said.

The news wasn’t good when I reached her. She said the candidate representing the junta’s own party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), had won the seat. She was disappointed but she didn’t sound particularly surprised.

“I am going to have to work ten times harder next time,” she told me.

Hard work might not be enough. Channel 4 News understands that not a single pro-democracy candidate has been elected to the “Peoples Parliament” – the equivalent of the House of Commons in the UK. We are still waiting for the official results but the USDP is saying tonight that it has won 80 per cent of the votes (the other party supported by the military regime – the National Unity Party – may have bagged the rest). The two main pro-democratic parties have already conceded defeat.

This election was supposed to mark the end of direct military-rule – but the generals don’t get it. They will continue to pull the strings. The people of this impoverished nation – including Ms Htun – will be the worse for it.