Burmese general election, 1960

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Burmese general election, 1960
Myanmar
1956 ←
6 February 1960 → 1990
All 183 seats to the Burmese Chamber of Deputies

Prime Minister before election

Ne Win
Military

Prime Minister-elect

U Nu
AFPFL

State seal of Myanmar.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Myanmar

Burma held its third general election on 6 February 1960 to decide which faction of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) should take over from General Ne Win's interim administration, established in October 1958. The military-led administration was credited for bringing stability and improving infrastructure in the country, though it suppressed some civil liberties.[1]

The election was seen as not so much a contest between former Premier U Nu and associates against former colleagues U Kyaw Nyein and U Ba Swe, but a referendum on the policies of the interim military government between 1958 and 1960.[2] The "Clean AFPFL" faction led by former Premier U Nu won the election with a majority of seats. The communist-orientated National United Front (NUF) won no seats, compared to the 1956 election.[1]

The election set a precedent to other Middle Eastern and South Asian leaders, where the military voluntary handed over to a civilian government and held free elections.[3] However, two years after his election victory, Nu was overthrown by a coup d'état led by General Ne Win on 2 March 1962.

Political parties[edit]

The "Clean AFPFL", led by U Nu, and "Stable AFPFL", led by U Kyaw Nyein and U Ba Swe, formed after a split in the main AFPFL party in April 1958.[4] Until the military took over in October 1958, U Nu relied on the communists to retain a majority in parliament.[5]

Despite the formation of the two parties, there were no major ideological differences between them and their policies were similar, especially with regards to non-alignment, although the "Stable" faction favoured industrialisation and the "Clean" faction spoke more of agricultural development.[4] The "Stable" faction had given the impression it was favoured by the army, but, after realising the army was not as favoured as first thought, distanced itself.[4] It had also argued it represented stability.[6] Meanwhile, the "Clean" faction warned against the "dangers of fascist dictatorship",[7] and criticised the current leaders for their "drinking and womanising".[8] The communist NUF was severely repressed by the caretaker military government and was therefore outside the two main parties.[9]

The Clean AFPFL chose yellow to campaign, as it was the colour worn by monks, while the Stable AFPFL chose red and the National Union Front chose blue.[7]

Polling day[edit]

An estimated 10,000,000 Burmese were eligible to vote.[10] The military largely stayed away on voting day, although it was present at some ballot boxes. Boxes for the "Clean" faction featured pictures of U Nu which the "Stable" faction and other smaller parties alleged confused the voter into thinking they were voting for Nu personally.[9] Polls closed at 6pm and a crowd estimated at 20,000 gathered at the Sule Pagoda in the capital Rangoon to hear results as they were posted.[4] The "Clean" faction took all 9 seats in the capital including one they were prepared to concede, while the "Stable" faction had some strength in the countryside.[11]

Media coverage of the event was restricted to print media only and vigorously covered, but was largely ignored by the state-run Burma Broadcasting Service which had not aired opposition coverage since before the AFPFL split.[9]

Results[edit]

Chamber of Deputies[edit]

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Clean AFPFL 3,153,934 57.2 158 New
Stable AFPFL 1,694,052 30.7 41 New
National United Front 262,199 4.8 3 –45
Arkan National Unity Organisation 160,783 7.3 6 0
Shan State United Hill People's Organisation 6 +4
Kachin National Congress 3 +1
Mon National Front 3 New
People's Educational and Cultural Development Organisation 2 –2
Chin National Organisation 1 New
Kayah National Unity League 1 New
Kayah Democratic League 1 New
Independents 16 +3
Vacant 13
Total 5,513,895 100 250 0
Registered voters/turnout 10,000,000 66.0
Source: The 1960 Elections Burma, Nohlen et al.

Chamber of Nationalities[edit]

Party Votes % Seats
Clean AFPFL 53
Stable AFPFL 29
Minority parties 43
Total 125
Source: Nohlen et al.

Turnout was 66%, then the highest in a Burmese election.[12] U Nu, remarking on his victory, said "I guess people like us".[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Bigelow, Lee S (1960). "The 1960 Elections in Burma". Far Eastern Survey (Institute of Pacific Relations) 29 (5): 70–74. doi:10.1525/as.1960.29.5.01p13582. JSTOR 3024046. 
  2. ^ Rotberg, Robert I (1998). Burma: prospects for a democratic future. Brookings Institution Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8157-7581-2. 
  3. ^ Butwell, Richard; von der Mehden, Fred (1960). "The 1960 Election in Burma". Pacific Affairs (Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia) 33 (2): 144–157. JSTOR 2752941. 
  4. ^ a b c d Grant, Bruce (8 February 1960). "All Asia is watching Burma's democratic election". The Age. 
  5. ^ "General Ne Win bows out". The Glasgow Herald. 10 February 1960. 
  6. ^ Associated Press (9 February 1960). "'Foes' of corruption win easily in Burma election". Herald-Journal. 
  7. ^ a b c Associated Press (10 February 1960). "U Nu victory changes trend". The Spokesman-Review. 
  8. ^ Grant, Bruce (9 February 1960). "Burma states her policy". The Age. 
  9. ^ a b c Butwell, Richard (1960). "The new political outlook in Burma". Far Eastern Survey (Institute of Pacific Relations) 29 (2): 21–27. doi:10.1525/as.1960.29.2.01p1337u. JSTOR 3024460. 
  10. ^ United Press International (7 February 1960). "Burma voters cast ballots for deputies". St. Petersburg Times. 
  11. ^ Associated Press (9 February 1960). "U Nu 'cleans' bidding for sweep in voting". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 
  12. ^ Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p603 ISBN 0-19-924958-X