Building local democracy in Myanmar is crucial

Myanmar is undergoing a comprehensive political transition. In April this year the first democratically elected government in six decades came into power under the leadership of NLD, the pro-democracy party headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. The largest peace conference in the country’s history was held in early September, and Myanmar again made the international headlines a week later when Kofi Annan visited the country to head a commission for addressing communal violence. These national events are crucial to the democratization process in Myanmar and for ending the almost seven decades of civil war. However, often overlooked in this larger picture of transition is the state of local democracy, including village level governance and everyday state-citizen engagements. Political changes at this level are equally crucial for the wider democratization process.

This roundtable summary discusses the 2016 local elections of village tract and urban ward administrators and reflects on the future of local democracy and decentralization in Myanmar. Local administrators are the primary point of contact between the state and citizens. How they are elected and how they govern in the everyday are essential to understanding political developments at the most local level.