1947 Burmese general election

1947 Burmese general election

←  1936 9 April 1947 1951–52  →
210 seats in the Constituent Assembly 106 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	49.8%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Aung San Win Maung Thakin Than Tun Party AFPFL KYO CPB Seats won 173 19 7 Popular vote 1,755,000 109,000 126,000
Premier before election Aung San AFPFL Prime Minister-elect U Nu AFPFL

General elections were held in Burma on 9 April 1947 to form the basis of a constituent assembly that would design a constitution once independence from the United Kingdom had been achieved. ^[1] They were the first elections in Burma since its separation from India under the British Raj. ^[2] Voter turnout was 49.8%. ^[3] However, Aung San was assassinated three months later, resulting in U Nu becoming the first Prime Minister of Burma.

Background

The elections were among a number of provisions agreed on 27 January 1947 between Burmese nationalist Aung San on a visit to London and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee guaranteeing Burma's independence from the UK within a year. ^[4]

Campaign

In 56 non-communal constituencies, candidates from the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL) ran unopposed. U Saw, leader of the Patriot's Party, accused the AFPFL of intimidation and corruption during the election campaign and boycotted the election, as did Ba Hein and his party, accusing the AFPFL of being a "stooges" of British imperialism. ^{[5] [6]} Reasons given for the low turnout included the instability left by the Japanese occupation of Burma and the struggle for independence. ^[1] Other candidates in the election included a few independents and communists. ^[7] The election was certified as free and fair. ^[2] On the other hand, the nationalists Ba Maw and U Saw and the radical marxist Thakin Ba Hein formed an alliance to boycott the elections. ^[8]

Results

Turnout was generally low, around 50% in contested constituencies. ^[1]

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League	1,755,000		173
	Communist Party of Burma	126,000		7
	Karen Youth Organisation	109,000		19
	Independent Karen			5
	Anglo-Burmese			4
	Independents			2
Total				210
Registered voters/turnout			49.8
Source: Nohlen et al.

Aftermath

On 19 July 1947 Aung San was assassinated along with six other members of the party, after which the leadership of the AFPFL was taken over by U Nu. ^[9] Several major radical opposition figures such as Ba Maw, Thakin Ba Hein, Bo Yan Naing and others were arrested for their ties to Aung's assassin. Although most of them were released after a short time as no evidence was found of their involvement, U Saw was hanged. ^[8] A constitution was approved on 24 September 1947 and independence granted on 4 January 1948. ^[2]

See also

• British rule in Burma
• Panglong Conference

References

1. Rotberg, Robert I. (1998). Burma: prospects for a democratic future (2nd ed.). Brookings Institution Press. p.  42. ISBN   978-0-8157-7582-9.
2. Saffin, Janelle (2000). "Burma's Election and Constitutional History: A Snapshot". Legal Issues on Burma Journal. 7. Burma Lawyers' Council. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
3. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p610 ISBN   0-19-924958-X
4. Oṅ, Chan; Silverstein, Josef (1993). The political legacy of Aung San. SEAP Publications. p. 4. ISBN   978-0-87727-128-4.
5. A.A.P. (9 April 1947). "Burmese go to the polls, boycotts by most parties". The Sydney Morning Herald .
6. Appleton, G. (1947). "Burma Two Years After Liberation". International Affairs. 23 (4). Blackwell Publishing: 510–521. doi:10.2307/3016561. JSTOR   3016561.
7. Hendershot, Clarence (1947). "Burma Compromise". Far Eastern Survey. 16 (12). Institute of Pacific Relations: 133–138. doi:10.2307/3022480. JSTOR   3022480.
8. Ba, Maw (1968). Breakthrough in Burma Memoirs of a Revolution, 1939-1946. p. 434.
9. Morse, Erik A.; Mitchell, Ronald K. (2006). Cases in entrepreneurship: the venture creation process. SAGE. p. 61. ISBN   978-1-4129-0976-1.