Myanmar Citizens Legitimized the 2020 General Election:
The Post-Election Surveys Denying the Military Claims
The military seized control of
Myanmar on February 1, following the November 2020 general election which
resulted in a huge victory for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy
(NLD) party. The military claims the election was a “fraud”, demanding a rerun of the votes.
The Union Election Commission, together with local and international observers,
has denied such charges, stating there was no pre-arranged election
manipulation. In the EAI Issue Briefing, published on Feb. 10, Professor Jin
Seok Bae and Professor Sook Jong Lee analyze results of post-election surveys
conducted by the East Asia Institute (EAI) and its local partnership
institutions in the Mandalay Region and Kachin State. The authors contend that a majority of citizens
supports the democratization of their nation, with a belief the election was
free and fair.The authors add that in order for Myanmar to progress beyond the current situation, there needs to be support for Myanmar democracy from the international community including Asian democracies.[Read more]
