In a landmark election, Burma’s* National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, gained an 80% majority in the Burmese parliament, thus meeting the two-thirds majority support required in order to form a government. Despite the NLD’s win, one quarter of the seats in parliament are reserved for the military, an entity which ruled the country for decades. In addition, Aung San Suu Kyi cannot become president, as the constitution (in its current form) bars those with foreign children from holding the position. The process to elect a president will begin in January.Burma has a long and complex history, and this is not the first time the NLD has swept in the polls. Throughout the twentieth century, and continuing into the twenty-first, the Burmese people have struggled to overcome political oppression, ethnic turmoil, and religious conflict. In order to foresee what this nation’s future might look like, we must turn to its history.A colony of the British Empire, Burma was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. With the aid of the British, the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) — led by Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi’s father — defeated the Japanese in 1945. Shortly after, Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948, but not before nationalist opponents assassinated Aung San. From then on, Prime Minister U Nu led Burma until 1962, when the military, disapproving of U Nu’s favoritism of Buddhism as the state religion, overthrew the government and founded a single party state run by the Socialist Programme Party. Though the new constitution of 1974 transferred power to a “People’s Assembly,” Burma’s economic depression and ethnic tensions continued to plague the country which was still largely ran by the military. In 1988, Aung San Suu Kyi, having moved to England where she attended Oxford University, returned to Burma to visit her dying mother, only to be shocked at the the government’s bloody crackdown on dissidents. The unrest boiled over into what was dubbed the “8888 Uprisings,” in which students, the youth, and monks took to the streets to demand that General Ne Win, the militant dictator since 1962, allow Bruma to become a multiparty state. The protests backfired. Government forces killed an estimated 3,000 people. Countless others were silenced or never seen again. General Ne Win stepped down, but his government was replaced by the State Law and Order Restoration Council.The daughter of a national hero, Aung San Suu Kyi was the only beacon of hope for the Burmese people after such atrocities. Having witnessed the sadness of her people, she did not return to the United Kingdom. Instead, she stayed in Burma and founded the National League for Democracy, inviting thinkers and younger generations into her home to discuss politics and Burma’s future.Burma held elections in 1990 for the first time in three decades. The Burmese people overwhelming gave Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy their vote, but the military, unwilling to yield, instead placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for six years. In 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in absentia — her husband Michael Aris, an Oxford orientalist, and her two sons accepting the award on her behalf. The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to give Suu Kyi the prize sparked international attention for the Burmese people’s aspirations for democracy. In 1995, Suu Kyi was released, only to be put under house arrest twice more. After a total of 15 years spent confined to her house, she was released in 2010. Shortly after, Burma held elections once more, though Aung San Suu Kyi was forbidden to participate. Controversially, the military-supported Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won, and Thein Sein, a former general of the army, came to power. In 2012, Suu Kyi was finally allowed to run for parliament. In May of 2012 she was sworn into office.So what will make this election different from all of the past elections? Aung San Suu Kyi answered this week in an interview with the BBC: “The times are different. The people are different. I find the people are far more politicized now than they were back—not just in 1990—but much more politicized than they were in 2012 when we campaigned for the byelection. They are very much more alert to what is going on around them, and then of course there’s the communications revolution — this has made a huge difference.”Though she cannot become president, Aung San Suu Kyi has said she will be “above the president” and lead Burma in this way. Many anticipate the National League for Democracy will work to somehow change the constitution so that she may one day hold office. However, this appears difficult, as the military still holds veto power.People around the world have equated Suu Kyi to Nelson Mandela, who championed the struggle against Apartheid in South Africa, spent 27 years in prison, and went on to become the nation’s first black president in 1994. However, Aung San Suu Kyi is not on board with such grandiose comparisons. She says, “I’m just a politician. And I think anyone who thinks he’s more than a politician is very dangerous.” Ironically, her statement echos Mandela’s own fears of being elevated to a “semi-god,” which is perhaps why the people of Burma have supported Suu Kyi for so long. She is humbly committed to a just government, by and for the people.As of the writing of this article, the news of Aung San Suu Kyi’s victory has only just been announced. In the coming days and weeks, all the world’s eyes will shift to Burma, its people, and their aspirations for democracy and peace. The nation must still face obstacles such as extreme poverty, an absence of the rule of law, and bitter ethnic and religious tensions. There are specific issues in the Rakhine State between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims; individuals of the latter group are not permitted to be citizens in Burma and were barred from what has otherwise been declared a “fair” election.There is still much work to be done. Burmese and global citizens alike must hope for a day when Burma will not solely be defined by its political struggles, oppression, and isolation, but instead by its rich cultural diversity, peace, and democracy. The NLD’s election is only a step, but one worthy of celebration nonetheless.*The official name of Burma is “The Republic of the Union of Myanmar,” often referred to simply as Myanmar. I have chosen to call the nation Burma in respect for Aung San Suu Kyi’s own preference. Aung San Suu Kyi explains: “Burma was the name under which we became independent. Burma is not the Burmese name for Burma; it’s a name we used internationally. And when the military regime took over in 1988, a few years later they announced one day that the name of the country was going to be Myanmar, claiming that Burma was a colonial invention. In fact it was not a colonial invention. It was a transliteration of the name of the country as used generally by the people — Bama or Bamapi — we say the ‘land of the Bama’s.’ And Myanmar is simply a literary form. A literary form which was imposed on the country without referring to the wishes of the people.”

This article was written by Anthony Comeau. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Foreign and Commonwealth Office via Flickr