The 2015 General Election and Democratic Transition in Myanmar<\/p>\n
Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen
\nPolitical Scientist & Independent Scholar<\/p>\n
18 AUGUST 2015 | 11.00 am \u2013 1.00 pm | IKMAS Seminar Room<\/p>\n
ABSTRACT<\/strong> BIODATA<\/strong> The 2015 General Election and Democratic Transition in Myanmar Dr. Nehginpao Kipgen Political Scientist & Independent Scholar 18 AUGUST 2015 | 11.00 am \u2013 1.00 …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"news-category":[],"class_list":["post-925","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nVoting is scheduled to take place across Myanmar on November 8, 2015. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw or Assembly of the Union, which has 664 seats, is made up of two houses – the House of Nationalities\/Amyotha Hluttaw\/Upper House of 224 seats and the House of Representatives\/Pyithu Hluttaw\/Lower House of 440 seats. About 90 political parties are expected to take part in the election broadly under three categories – the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the National League for Democracy (NLD) and other Burman-led smaller parties, and ethnic-based parties. While the country prepares for a general election, it remains to be seen as to how political parties will take part in the electoral process and for the formation of a new government. There are certain lingering questions. For example, will the military or the USDP government allow a free and fair election? If a political deadlock arises after the election, will the two dominant parties – USDP and NLD – be willing to compromise for a smooth transition to democracy? On the other hand, since the national parliament failed to support amendment of the 2008 constitution in June this year, how will the NLD pursue its political strategy and what role will Aung San Suu Kyi play after the election since she is now constitutionally barred from becoming the country\u2019s next president? Should the situation demand, will ethnic-based political parties ally themselves with any of the two dominant political parties or choose to remain as a third political force, or consider forming an alliance with other smaller parties? The talk will examine the different political landscape possibilities, in the aftermath of the general election, and prospects of Myanmar\u2019s democratic transition.<\/p>\n
\nDr. Nehginpao Kipgen, an American citizen, is a Political Scientist whose concentration is in Comparative Politics and International Relations. His general research interests include democratization, democratic transition, global politics, human rights, ethnic conflict, identity politics, and foreign policy. His academic research focuses on South Asia and South East Asia, with specialization on Burma\/Myanmar. He has published single-authored books, peer-reviewed academic articles in Social Research: An International Quarterly, World Affairs, Journal of Asian and African Studies, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Ethnopolitics, Strategic Analysis, South Asia Research, Indian Journal of Political Science, Economic and Political Weekly, and Asian Profile. He has also published over 100 articles in various leading international newspapers and magazines in five continents – Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"