1960 Burmese general election
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All 250 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 126 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Myanmar portal |
General elections were held in
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.
The elections set a precedent to other Middle Eastern and South Asian leaders, where the military voluntarily handed over to a
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
The Clean AFPFL chose yellow to campaign, as it was the colour worn by monks, while the Stable AFPFL chose red and the National United Front chose blue.[7]
Conduct
An estimated 10,000,000 Burmese were eligible to vote.
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 the highest in a Burmese election.[12] U Nu, remarking on his victory, said "I guess people like us".[7]
Chamber of Deputies
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clean AFPFL | 158 | New | |||
Stable AFPFL | 41 | New | |||
National United Front | 3 | –45 | |||
Arakanese National Unity Organisation | 6 | 0 | |||
Shan State United Hill People's Organisation | 6 | –8 | |||
Kachin National Congress | 3 | +1 | |||
Mon National Front | 3 | New | |||
People's Educational and Cultural Development Organisation | 2 | –2 | |||
Chin National Organisation | 1 | New | |||
Kayah National United League | 1 | New | |||
Kayah Democratic League | 1 | New | |||
All Nationalist Alliance | 0 | New | |||
All-Shan State Organisation | 0 | –4 | |||
Buddhist Democratic Party | 0 | New | |||
Burma Democratic Party | 0 | 0 | |||
Burma Nationalist Party | 0 | –1 | |||
Independents and other parties | 10 | – | |||
Vacant | 15 | – | |||
Total | 250 | 0 | |||
Total votes | 6,000,000 | – | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 10,000,000 | 60.00 | |||
Source: Butwell & Von der Mehden Nohlen et al. |
Chamber of Nationalities
Party | Seats | |
---|---|---|
Clean AFPFL | 53 | |
Stable AFPFL | 29 | |
Minority parties | 43 | |
Total | 125 | |
Source: Nohlen et al. |
References
- JSTOR 3024046.
- ISBN 978-0-8157-7581-2.
- JSTOR 2752941.
- The Glasgow Herald. 10 February 1960.
- ^ a b c Grant, Bruce (8 February 1960). "All Asia is watching Burma's democratic election". The Age.
- ^ Associated Press (9 February 1960). "'Foes' of corruption win easily in Burma election". Herald-Journal.
- ^ a b c Associated Press (10 February 1960). "U Nu victory changes trend". The Spokesman-Review.
- ^ Grant, Bruce (9 February 1960). "Burma states her policy". The Age.
- ^ JSTOR 3024460.
- St. Petersburg Times.
- ^ Associated Press (9 February 1960). "U Nu 'cleans' bidding for sweep in voting". Daytona Beach Morning Journal.
- ISBN 0-19-924958-X