Myanmar is holding elections today for the first time in 20 years. Critics, however, say the vote is a sham designed to allow the military junta to remain in control of the country while claiming to be undertaking democratic reforms.
While it’s unlikely there will be any surprising developments, here are some resources for following today’s events online:
- Reuters has an excellent blog called Myanmar Elections Live with frequent text updates, images, videos, and more.
- MyanmarElections.org has info on the various parties and candidates.
- Burma Election Tracker, a site by activist groups, has a map and other resources.
- The Democratic Voice of Burma has a site called Burma2010Election.com with a map and various reports.
- The Irrawaddy magazine has various articles and updates.
- You can find Myanmar-related tweets by searching for the #burma or #burmaelection hashtags on Twitter.
For background reading, here are three stories worth checking out:
- AP: “Myanmar holds rare elections amid heavy criticism.“
- Economist: “Slowly, the army eases its grip.“
- New York Times: “Myanmar Votes for Civilian Facade“
Image: Reuters.