FPTP electoral system of Myanmar as a barrier for Ethnic Minority Inclusiveness in parliamentary decision-making

Abstract

In Myanmar, the ethnic minority do not have equal access to public services to raise their issues and voices for it. They are not adequately represented in state institutions by the political system which does not grant the adequate opportunities to participate in decision-making at union level.

Ethnic minorities believe that all groups should have equal access to public services and enjoy an efficient system of protection of human rights. Ethnic Diversity may result in tensions within the nation when one group is economically or socially or politically dominant or privileged. By being discriminated and marginalized through the political system, ethnic grievances have centered on the lack of inclusive decision making and it leads to internal tension and civil wars between ethnic groups and government. Hence, the lack of ethnic minority inclusiveness and a weak system of fair representation impact on the human security of ethnic minority groups.

The electoral system of Myanmar, “First Past the Post” (FPTP) did not create a fair share of seats according to the number of votes each political party receives. As a result, these groups do not get their preferred representatives to raise their voices in parliament, while the winner who represents only some people becomes the representative of the whole constituency. Thus, Myanmar’s current electoral system is not creating inclusive representation of political parties in parliament.

According to the principle of inclusivity, governance systems should ensure that all significant communities in a country are represented in state institutions and that they are granted adequate opportunities to meaningfully influence decision making. Paper will explain about the ethno-nationalism and the history of Myanmar, Electoral system and Constitution which diminish the inclusiveness and re-designing the considerable electoral system for better inclusiveness.