2011 Myanmar presidential election

2011 indirect election for the Myanmar head of state/government

4 February 2011

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Turnout

654 (99.2%)


Nominee	Thein Sein	Tin Aung Myint Oo	Sai Mauk Kham
Party	USDP	USDP	USDP
Electoral vote	408	171	75
Percentage	62.4%	26.3%	11.5%
Committee	Pyithu Hluttaw	Tatmadaw	Amyotha Hluttaw

Chairman of the SPDC before election

Than Shwe
Tatmadaw

President after election

Thein Sein (President)
Tin Aung Myint Oo (1st Vice President)
Sai Mauk Kham (2nd Vice President)

Politics of Myanmar


Constitution 2008 Constitution Constitutional Tribunal Chairman: Than Kyaw National Defence and Security Council
Government President (list) Min Aung Hlaing (acting) State Administration Council Chairman: Min Aung Hlaing Vice Chairman: Soe Win Vice-President First: Myint Swe Second: Vacant Prime Minister (list) Min Aung Hlaing Deputy Prime Minister Soe Win Mya Tun Oo Tin Aung San Win Shein Than Swe Cabinet Provisional Government
Legislature (dissolved) House of Nationalities Speaker House of Representatives Speaker Opposition
Judiciary Supreme Court Chief Justice: Htun Htun Oo Constitutional Tribunal Chairman: Than Kyaw
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Exiled government Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw National Unity Government President: Duwa Lashi La (acting) Prime Minister: Mahn Win Khaing Than Vice President: Duwa Lashi La
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Indirect presidential elections were held in Myanmar on 4 February 2011, after the 2010 general election. Members of the Assembly of the Union voted for the country's President, and two Vice-Presidents.

The elections led the way to the first nominally civilian president in 49 years. Previously, the country had been run by a military junta, known as the State Peace and Development Council. The elections were the first presidential elections held under the new 2008 constitution.

Thein Sein, Tin Aung Myint Oo, and Sai Mauk Kham were elected President, First Vice-President, and Second-Vice President respectively. All were members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Background

Myanmar, previously known as Burma, has been under a dictatorship for the majority of its independent history. First, under Ne Win and his Burma Socialist Programme Party, and then under a military junta. In 2007, large scale demonstrations took place during the Saffron Revolution, which was organized by the vast monastic community of Myanmar. The revolution was suppressed, but lead to political reforms and the 2008 constitution.

The first elections held under the new constitution occurred in 2010. They were considered semi-free, but their legitimacy was question by some. In addition, the major opposition, the National League for Democracy boycotted the election, objecting to the continued imprisonment of their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The boycott resulted in a massive landslide for the Union Solidarity and Development Party, which is backed by the Tatmadaw (military).

Electoral system

Under the 2008 constitution, Myanmar has a President, and two Vice-Presidents. They are elected by the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the national legislature.

The Pyidaungsu Hluttaw consists of two chambers, Pyithu Hluttaw, and Amyotha Hluttaw. Most seats are directly elected, but a quarter of the seats in both chambers are appointed by the Tatmadaw.

Chamber	Type	MPs
Pyithu Hluttaw	Directly-elected	330
Pyithu Hluttaw	Military-appointed	110
Amyotha Hluttaw	Directly-elected	168
Amyotha Hluttaw	Military-appointed	56

The Presidential Electoral College is made up of three committees:

The directly elected MPs from Pyithu Hluttaw (330).
The directly elected MPs from Amyotha Hluttaw (168).
The military appointees in both chambers (166).

Each committee nominates a single candidate. The whole Pyidaungsu Hluttaw then votes, with all three nominees on the ballot together and each of the 664 MPs being entitled to one vote. The vote is a secret ballot. The candidate that receives the highest number of votes is President, the candidate with the second highest number of votes is 1st Vice-President, and the remaining candidate is 2nd Vice-President. This system guarantees the military at least one Vice-President.

Candidates

The candidates were nominated on 3 February 2011.

Pyithu Hluttaw committee

Thein Sein was nominated by the committee from Pyithu Hluttaw. He was a member of that body from the Zabuthiri Township. He had been the Prime Minister of Myanmar until that position was abolished after the 2010 general election, and he had served as the First Secretary of the State Peace and Development Council, from 2004 to 2007.


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Thein Sein	Union Solidarity and Development Party	276	87.90
	Saw Thein Aung	Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party	38	12.10
Total			314	100.00

Registered voters/turnout			325	–
Source: Mizzima

Five Pyithu Hluttaw seats were vacant.

Amyotha Hluttaw committee

Sai Mauk Kham was nominated by the committee from Amyotha Hluttaw. He was not a member of parliament.


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Sai Mauk Kham	Union Solidarity and Development Party	140	83.83
	Aye Maung	Rakhine Nationalities Development Party	27	16.17
Total			167	100.00

Registered voters/turnout			168	–
Source: Mizzima

Military committee

Tin Aung Myint Oo was nominated by the committee of military appointed members. He was a member of the Pyithu Hluttaw from the Pobbathiri Township. He had previously been Secretary 1 of the State Peace and Development Council.

The Tatmadaw did not release any information on how he was chosen.

Results

The election was held on 4 February 2011.


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Thein Sein (elected president)	Union Solidarity and Development Party	408	62.39
	Tin Aung Myint Oo (elected first vice-president)	Union Solidarity and Development Party	171	26.15
	Sai Mauk Kham (elected second vice-president)	Union Solidarity and Development Party	75	11.47
Total			654	100.00

Registered voters/turnout			659	–
Source: Asia News

Five Pyithu Hluttaw seats were vacant.

The elected candidates were sworn in on 30 March 2011.

2012 by-election

On 1 July 2012, 1st Vice-President Tin Aung Myint Oo resigned due to his poor health. 2nd Vice-President Sai Mauk Kham then became 1st Vice-President. Because Tin had been nominated by the Tatmadaw appointed members, that committee was entitled to choose his replacement. They nominated then Chief Minister of Yangon Region Myint Swe, a retired lieutenant general. But he did not qualify per the Constitution of Myanmar, as his son-in-law was an Australian citizen at the time. So they elected Admiral Nyan Tun, then Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Navy as 2nd Vice-President.

References

"Burma names Thein Sein as president". The Guardian. 4 Feb 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
"Myanmar junta sets election date of November 7". CNN. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
"Western states dismiss Burma's election". BBC. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
MacFarquhar, Neil (22 October 2010). "U.N. Doubts Fairness of Election in Myanmar". The New York Times.
"Suu Kyi's NLD party to boycott Burma election". BBC News. 29 March 2010.
^ "Thein Sein and Sai Mauk Kham elected as vice presidents". Mizzima. 3 February 2011. Archived from the original on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
"Thein Sein is Myanmar's new president". AsiaNews. 2 April 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
"What do you think of Vice Presidential candidate U Myint Swe?" (in Burmese).
Sean Gleeson (11 March 2016). "Myint Swe revealed as military VP pick". Frontier Myanmar.
"Admiral Nyan Tun was appointed as VP" (in Burmese).

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