Good election news

Having recently done a post on a couple of elections where no positive result could have been expected, it's good to be able to celebrate some more positive election news. On April 1, a by-election was held for 45 seats in the Burmese parliament, and despite some irregularities and other issues making the elections less than completely free and fair, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party won in a landslide, taking 43 seats. They even won seats in the Burmese capital Naypyidaw, which was only built in last decade and is populated mainly by government officials, military personnel, and their families. This result clearly shows the enduring popularity of Aung San Suu Kyi and the desire of most Burmese for further reform and democratization. The government seems to have accepted this result, which was not the case with the 1990 elections that the NLD also won in a landslide. But of course one reason for that is the one which mutes any jubilation those of us who support positive change in Burma may feel at this outcome, namely that even with this victory, the NLD will be a tiny minority in a parliament dominated by the military and its proxies. The bicameral Burmese parliament has a total of 664 seats, so the NLD's voice in the government will remain small. The real test of the government's willingness to allow real democracy will come in the next few years, first through how they work with the NLD and then when the next general elections come and the NLD has a chance to take a larger share of power (though according to the constitution imposed by the military, they appoint 25% of the seats). Also, despite the great improvements we have seen, reports indicate that serious human rights violations continue in some areas. So while these elections are a good sign, there is still a long way to go.

Going back a little further to late March, another positive election result came in the presidential run-off election in Mali. In the past few years, incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade made a number of moves transparently designed to help him stay in office. He tried to lower the minimum percentage of votes required to win a presidential election in the first round from 50% to 25%, though he dropped that effort in the face of massive protests (if he had succeeded, he would have won in the first round of this year's elections, held in late February, as he was the top vote getter with a little under 35%). Then, early this year, he got a ruling from the nation's Constitutional Court that the constitutional limit on presidential terms did not apply to his first term in office, as it began before the constitution came into force, which meant he could run for a third term. In a maneuver reminiscent of Vladimir Putin, he had also restored the seven-year terms that Senegal's presidents had previously enjoyed, after a brief switch to five-year terms. But despite (or perhaps rather because of) all this, when it came down to the run-off between him and Macky Sall, he lost overwhelmingly, even losing in his own constituency. Nationwide, Sall (who promised to restore five-year terms) got almost two-thirds of the votes after gaining the support of the other major candidates from the first round. Ironically enough, what makes this result particularly positive is the reaction of Wade himself, who openly conceded defeat and wished Sall good luck. Despite his maneuvering before the election, Wade has to be commended for heeding the voice of the people, unlike many other African leaders (Zimbabwe's Mugabe being the most egregious current example). While how well Sall will govern remains to be seen, Senegal's immediate future looks better than that of many other countries in the region, such as Mali (where I almost feel sorry for the leaders of the recent coup, who seem to have bitten off more than they could chew).