In this discussion brought to you from the Australian National University's College of Asia and the Pacific, Dr Nicholas Farrelly introduces Myanmar's new political geography through a series of maps. He discusses the evolution of Myanmar politics from long-term military dictatorship to a nascent parliamentary system where regular elections are planned.
The focus of this discussion is the November 2010 general election. Dr Farrelly provides a brief introduction to the electorates and to the re-shaping of the national terrain around the 330 lower house (Pyithu Hluttaw) constituencies of the new national legislature. He discusses political parties and margins of victory, and the interactions of geography and political outcomes. His analysis ends with some brief reflections on the 2012 by-election which saw Aung San Suu Kyi and others from the National League for Democracy elected to Myanmar's legislatures. As Dr Farrelly suggests, the big questions for political analysts concern what will happen in Myanmar's planned 2015 general election.