Myanmar operates de jure as a unitary assembly-independent presidential republic under its 2008 constitution. On 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing anti-coup protests.
Thein Sein is a Burmese politician and retired military general who served as the 9th President of Myanmar from 2011 to 2016. He previously served as prime minister from 2007 to 2010, and was considered by many in and outside Myanmar as a reformist leader in the post-junta government.
General elections were held in Myanmar on 7 November 2010, in accordance with the new constitution, which was approved in a referendum held in May 2008. The election date was announced by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) on 13 August.
The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy is a de-registered political party in Myanmar (Burma). The party was established on 26 October 1988, and campaigns for the interests of the Shan people. The SNLD became the largest Shan party in the Assembly of the Union following the 2015 general election. The party is a federal party having local branches in most townships in Shan State and few in other states and regions such as Kayah, Kachin, and Mandalay.
The National Democratic Force (NDF) is a political party in Myanmar (Burma). It was founded by former members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who disagreed with the party leadership's decision to boycott the 2010 general election.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party is an ultranationalist, pro-military political party in Myanmar. Alongside the National League for Democracy, it is one of Myanmar's two principal national parties. USDP is the successor to the former ruling military junta's mass organisation, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, and serves as the electoral proxy of the Tatmadaw (military), which operates as a state within a state. Many of its political candidates and leadership are retired generals. It supports authoritarian military leadership. USDP was founded by Prime Minister Thein Sein to contest the 2010 Myanmar general election; the party was headed by Sein until 2013. Since 2022, it has been led by Khin Yi, who was installed as a loyalist of military leader Min Aung Hlaing.
The Democratic Party is a political party in Myanmar (Burma), founded in 1988. It was formally registered in May 2010, with its headquarters in Pazundaung Township, Yangon.
The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is the de jure national-level bicameral legislature of Myanmar established by the 2008 National Constitution. The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw is made up of two houses, the 224-seat Amyotha Hluttaw, or "House of Nationalities", and the 440-seat Pyithu Hluttaw, or House of People's Representatives. There is no mention in the 2008 Constitution of any ‘lower’ or ‘upper’ houses: both the Pyithu Hluttaw and the Amyotha Hluttaw enjoy equal power to initiate, review, amend, and pass legislation.
The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party was a political party in Myanmar (Burma), representing the interests of the Rakhine people in Rakhine State and Yangon Region. The party contested 44 seats in the 2010 General Election, of which it won 35. The RNDP was the largest party in the Rakhine State Hluttaw, the sole State or Region Hluttaw whose largest party was not the Union Solidarity and Development Party following the 2010 election. The party was at times accused of stirring up anti-Muslim feelings.
The 2012 Myanmar by-elections were held on 1 April 2012. The elections were held to fill 48 vacant parliamentary seats. Three of those remained vacant as polling in three Kachin constituencies was postponed. There was no plan to fill the additional five seats cancelled in the 2010 election and one seat vacated after the death of a RNDP member.
May Win Myint is a Burmese politician, physician and former inmate who is currently serving as a Pyithu Hluttaw MP for Mayangon Township and member of the National League for Democracy's Central Executive Committee.
Sandar Min is a Burmese politician and former political prisoner who currently serves as a Yangon Region Hluttaw MP for Seikkyi Kanaungto Township № 1 constituency. She previously served as a House of Representatives MP for Zabuthiri Township constituency.
General elections were held in Myanmar on 8 November 2015, with the National League for Democracy winning a supermajority of seats in the combined national parliament. Voting occurred in all constituencies, excluding seats appointed by the military, to select Members of Assembly to seats in both the upper house and the lower house of the Assembly of the Union, and State and Region Hluttaws. Ethnic Affairs Ministers were also elected by their designated electorates on the same day, although only select ethnic minorities in particular states and regions were entitled to vote for them.
The Arakan National Party, is a political party in Myanmar (Burma), representing the interests of the Rakhine people in Rakhine State and Yangon Region. The party was founded on 13 January 2014 and registered with the Union Election Commission on 6 March 2014. The chairman of the ANP is Thar Htun Hla. The party is known for its hardline ethnic nationalist stance, as well as its Islamophobic and anti-Rohingya positions. Some members of the party were involved in instigating violence against Rohingya people during the communal riots in 2012, which left dozens dead and thousands homeless.
The Mon National Party (MNP) was a political party in Myanmar (Burma).
An Ethnic Affairs Minister is a representative elected by an ethnic minority in a given state or region of Myanmar if that division is composed of an ethnic minority population of 0.1 percent or greater of the total populace [roughly 51,400 people]. If one of the country's ethnic minorities counts their state of residence as its namesake, however, it is not granted an ethnic affairs minister. Only voters who share an ethnic identity with a given ethnic affairs minister post are allowed to vote for candidates to the position.
Pe Thein Zar was a Mon student leader, lawyer, revolutionary, and writer who was imprisoned for seven years for his activism. He earned a BA (History) degree from Rangoon University.
Thein Nyunt is a Burmese lawyer, columnist, and politician. He served on Myanmar's State Administration Council from 2021 to 2023. A former member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), he founded the New National Democracy Party and co-founded the National Democratic Force (NDF) after splitting from the NLD. Thein Nyunt served as an MP for the Pyithu Hluttaw, representing Thingangyun Township, from 2011 to 2016.
Indirect presidential elections were held in Myanmar on 4 February 2011, after the 2010 general election. Members of the Assembly of the Union voted for the country's President, and two Vice-Presidents.
Indirect presidential elections were held in Myanmar on 15 March 2016, after the 2015 general election. Members of the Assembly of the Union voted for the country's President, and two Vice-Presidents.
