Burmese general election, 1960

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Burmese general election, 1960
Flag of Burma (1948-1974).svg
←  1956 6 February 1960 1974  →
All 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
126 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 66.0%

  First party Second party Third party
  U Nu portrait.jpg Ba Swe.jpg No image.svg
Leader U Nu Kyaw Nyein & Ba Swe (pictured)
Party Clean AFPFL Stable AFPFL NUF
Seats won 158 41 3
Seat changeNewNewDecrease2.svg45
Popular vote 3,153,934 1,694,052 262,199
Percentage 57.2 30.7 4.8
Prime Minister before election

Ne Win
Military

Prime Minister-elect

U Nu
AFPFL

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

General elections were held in Burma on 6 February 1960 to install a government to 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]

Ne Win Burmese politician and general

Ne Win was a Burmese politician and military commander who served as Prime Minister of Burma from 1958 to 1960 and 1962 to 1974, and also President of Burma from 1962 to 1981. Ne Win was Burma's dictator during the Socialist Burma period from 1962 to 1988.

Civil liberties or personal freedoms are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may include the freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to security and liberty, freedom of speech, the right to privacy, the right to equal treatment under the law and due process, the right to a fair trial, and the right to life. Other civil liberties include the right to own property, the right to defend oneself, and the right to bodily integrity. Within the distinctions between civil liberties and other types of liberty, distinctions exist between positive liberty/positive rights and negative liberty/negative rights.

Contents

The elections were seen as not so much a contest between the Clean AFPFL of U Nu against the Stable AFPFL of Kyaw Nyein and Ba Swe, but a referendum on the policies of the interim military government between 1958 and 1960. [2] The result was a victory for the Clean AFPFL, which won 157 of the 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies.

Union Party (Burma) political party in Burma

The Union Party was the ruling political party in Burma in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Formed by a split in the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, it was initially known as the Clean AFPFL.

U Nu Burmese nationalist and political figure

Nu, known honorifically as U Nu or Thakin Nu, was a leading Burmese statesman, politician, nationalist, and political figure of the 20th century. He was the first Prime Minister of Burma under the provisions of the 1947 Constitution of the Union of Burma, from 4 January 1948 to 12 June 1956, again from 28 February 1957 to 28 October 1958, and finally from 4 April 1960 to 2 March 1962.

Stable AFPFL

The Stable AFPFL was a political party in Burma.

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

Middle East region that encompasses Western Asia and Egypt

The Middle East is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia, Turkey, and Egypt. Saudi Arabia is geographically the largest Middle Eastern nation while Bahrain is the smallest. The corresponding adjective is Middle Eastern and the derived noun is Middle Easterner. The term has come into wider usage as a replacement of the term Near East beginning in the early 20th century.

South Asia Southern region of Asia

South Asia or Southern Asia, is a term used to represent the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan SAARC countries and, for some authorities, adjoining countries to the west and east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as Nepal and northern parts of India situated south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

The 1962 Burmese coup d'état on 2 March 1962 marked the beginning of totalitarian rule and the political dominance of the army in Burma which spanned the course of 26 years. In the coup, the military replaced the civilian AFPFL-government, headed by Prime Minister U Nu, with the Union Revolutionary Council, Chaired by General Ne Win.

Campaign

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

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. [5] 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. [5] 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]

Dictatorship form of autocratic government led by a single individual

A dictatorship is an authoritarian form of government, characterized by a single leader or group of leaders with either no party or a weak party, little mass mobilization, and limited political pluralism. According to other definitions, democracies are regimes in which "those who govern are selected through contested elections"; therefore dictatorships are "not democracies". With the advent of the 19th and 20th centuries, dictatorships and constitutional democracies emerged as the world's two major forms of government, gradually eliminating monarchies, one of the traditional widespread forms of government of the time. Typically, in a dictatorial regime, the leader of the country is identified with the title of dictator, although their formal title may more closely resemble something similar to "leader". A common aspect that characterized dictators is taking advantage of their strong personality, usually by suppressing freedom of thought and speech of the masses, in order to maintain complete political and social supremacy and stability. Dictatorships and totalitarian societies generally employ political propaganda to decrease the influence of proponents of alternative governing systems.

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]

Conduct

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. [5] 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

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

Chamber of Deputies

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Clean AFPFL 3,153,93457.2158New
Stable AFPFL 1,694,05230.741New
National United Front 262,1994.83–45
Arakanese National Unity Organisation 160,7837.360
United Hill People's Congress 6–8
Kachin National Congress 3+1
Mon National Front 3New
People's Educational and Cultural Development Organisation 2–2
Chin National Organisation 1New
Kayah National United League 1New
Kayah Democratic League 1New
All Nationalist Alliance0New
All-Shan State Organisation 0–4
Buddhist Democratic Party0New
Burma Democratic Party 00
Burma Nationalist Party 0–1
Independents16Increase2.svg3
Vacant––13–
Total5,513,8951002500
Registered voters/turnout10,000,00066.0––
Source: The 1960 Elections Burma, Nohlen et al.

Chamber of Nationalities

PartyVotes%Seats
Clean AFPFL53
Stable AFPFL29
Minority parties43
Total125
Source: Nohlen et al.

Related Research Articles

Anti-Fascist Peoples Freedom League political party

The Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, or hpa hsa pa la (ဖဆပလ) by its Burmese acronym, was the main political alliance in Burma from 1945 until 1958. It was founded by the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) led by Thakin Soe, the Burma National Army (BNA) led by Aung San, and the People's Revolutionary Party (PRP) at a meeting held between 1–3 March 1945 as a reorganised version of the Anti-Fascist Organisation (AFO), formed to resist the Japanese occupation. The new organisation aimed to resist the Japanese occupation and achieve independence.

Ba Swe Burmese politician

Ba Swe was the second Premier of Burma. He was a leading Burmese politician during the decade after the country gained its independence from Britain in 1948. He held the position of prime minister from 12 June 1956 to 28 February 1957. When Ba Swe became prime minister, Time magazine reported the news in an article titled: 'The Day of the Tiger' based on his nickname 'Big Tiger' since his university days in the 1930s as a student leader.

Burmese Way to Socialism official political ideology of Burma from 1962 to 1988

The Burmese Way to Socialism refers to the ideology of the socialist government in Burma, from 1962 to 1988, when the 1962 coup d'état was led by Ne Win and the military to remove U Nu from power. More specifically, the Burmese Way to Socialism is an economic treatise written in April 1962 by the Revolutionary Council, shortly after the coup, as a blueprint for economic development, reducing foreign influence in Burma and increasing the role of the military. The military coup led by Ne Win and the Revolutionary Council in 1962 was done under the pretext of economic, religious and political crises in the country, particularly the issue of federalism and the right of Burmese states to secede from the Union.

Post-independence Burma, 1948–62 former parliamentary republic in Asia

During the first years of post-independence Burma, insurgencies by the Red Flag Communists led by Thakin Soe, the White Flag Communists led by Thakin Than Tun, the Yèbaw Hpyu led by Bo La Yaung, a member of the Thirty Comrades, army rebels calling themselves the Revolutionary Burma Army (RBA) led by communist officers Bo Zeya, Bo Yan Aung and Bo Yè Htut – all three of them members of the Thirty Comrades, Arakanese, and the Karen National Union (KNU).

Katha, Myanmar Town in Sagaing Region, Myanmar


Katha is a town in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, on the west side of the Irrawaddy River on a bluff with an average elevation of 124 m (407 ft). Most of the town is more than 10 m (33 ft) above the river. Katha is known for having inspired Kyauktada, the fictional setting of George Orwell's Burmese Days.

Burma Workers Party

The Burma Workers Party, until 1958 the Burma Workers and Peasants Party, was a communist party in Burma, formed on 8 December 1950, by leftist elements of the Socialist Party. In December 1962 it merged with the People's Comrade Party to form the United Workers Party. In March 1964, it was among the many parties banned by decree of the Revolutionary Council.

Myint Swe is a Burmese politician, currently serving as 3rd First Vice President of the Republic of Union of Myanmar (Burma). He previously served as Acting President of Myanmar after the resignation of President Htin Kyaw on 21 March 2018. He also served as Chief Minister of Yangon Region from 30 March 2011 to 30 March 2016. On 30 March 2016, he was sworn in as the Vice President of Myanmar. He is an ethnic Mon ex-military officer in Myanmar Army with the rank of Lieutenant general.

The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) is the umbrella organisation for all the student unions in Burma and is an active voice for academic freedoms and student rights throughout the country. ABFSU offers a reliable source of information to the outside world, reporting regularly on the attempts of the military government (SPDC) to intimidate and silence those involved in the pro-democracy movement.

The Burma Socialist Party, initially known as the People's Freedom (Socialist) Party was a political party in Burma. BSP was the dominant party in Burmese politics after 1948. It was the dominant political force inside the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League.

National United Front political alliance in Burma (1955-1962)

The National United Front was a political alliance in Burma.

1956 Burmese general election

General elections were held in Burma to vote for 202 out of 250 seats to the Burmese Chamber of Deputies; the remaining 48 members ) were elected unopposed as no opposition candidates stood against them.

Thakin Kyaw Tun, or Thakin Kyaw Dun was a Burmese politician.

The Right Honourable U Kyaw Nyein was a Burmese politician.

Communist insurgency in Myanmar armed conflict that began in 1948 and ended in 1988

The Communist insurgency in Myanmar was led primarily by the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), and the Communist Party (Burma). The conflict ended in 1988, when the armed wing of the CPB disbanded following the Fall of Communism and the ousting of the Burmese socialist dictatorship.

Military rule in Burma lasted from 1962 to 2011. Myanmar gained its granted independence from British Empire in 1948 under Burmese Independence Army, as a democratic nation. The first military rule began in 1958 and direct military rule started when Ne Win captured power through a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship under the Burma Socialist Programme Party lasted for 12 years, in the claim to save the country from disintegration. During this period there was some democratic landscape in the form of election, giving rights to the citizen to elect and to stand for election.

References

  1. ↑ 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. ↑ "General Ne Win bows out". The Glasgow Herald . 10 February 1960.
  5. 1 2 3 Grant, Bruce (8 February 1960). "All Asia is watching Burma's democratic election". The Age .
  6. ↑ Associated Press (9 February 1960). "'Foes' of corruption win easily in Burma election". Herald-Journal.
  7. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 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. ↑ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p603 ISBN   0-19-924958-X
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