The seemingly interminable process of formulating a constitution and holding elections in Burma/Myanmar came to a conclusion on Nov. 7, with neither a bang nor a whimper.
The completion of the state-controlled constitution, writing of which began in 1993, was probably speeded up by the “saffron revolution” of monks in the fall of 2007. The constitution and the elections that followed were likely designed, at least in the minds of the military leadership, to restore the legitimacy that had been sacrificed by the state’s brutal repression of the monks – the most important symbol of Burman Buddhist identity. Following a referendum in May 2008, which was approved by a Stalinistic margin of 92.4 percent of ballots cast shortly after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country and killed some 138,000 people, the military finally set the election date, which was no doubt determined astrologically to be auspicious. Within 90 days, a new government will be formed that will inaugurate if not a new era in Burmese political life, at least a more pluralistic form of military control.
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