Myanmar Has First Election in 20 Years

Myanmar, also known as Burma, held its first election in 20 years on Sunday in an effort to create a façade of democracy, according to CNN. Riot police guarded the polls in the city of Yangon, the country’s former national capital, while election workers for the Union of Solidarity and Development, a party comprised of ex-military members and backed by the governing junta, urged rural citizens, who are typically ignorant of the political process, to vote—and how to vote—for them. Meanwhile, opposition parties like the National Democratic Force and the National League for Democracy, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi are saying the elections are a sham, their parties do not have the necessary funds to campaign in most of the country, and the military banned the use of international monitors to oversee the election. “We look at Burma today holding flawed elections that once again expose the abuses of the military junta,” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to Australia on Sunday. “It's heartbreaking because the people of Burma deserve so much better.”