Myanmar elections
By: V-Dem Staff
Nov 16, 2015
Although the freedom and fairness of the recent elections in Myanmar is yet to be evaluated, it is interesting to take a look at the recent history of this country. The power shift from authoritarian to democratic rule will strengthen the formal end of nearly 50 years of military rule from 2011 when nominally a civilian government was installed. This improvement is captured by the
V-Dem data explored in the graph below, where higher scores after 2011 is evident.
The electoral component graphed explores the extent to which leaders are held accountable to citizens through the mechanism of competitive elections, while the freedom of association index focuses on the extent to which parties, including opposition parties, are allowed to participate in elections, and for civil society organizations (CSOs) to operate freely. Throughout most of the period shown in the graph from 1966 to 2010 the scores for both indices capture severe restrictions in terms of possibility for opposition parties to form, for CSOs to operate and for citizens to hold leaders accountable through elections. Although significant improvement in the situation is suggested by the data, the scores around the middle of the scale indicate that further progress in these dimensions could be achieved and many anticipate a more positive change if the National League for Democracy takes over power in Myanmar.
