With new Burmese political parties now taking their first tentative steps into the political arena ahead of the election, many new faces are introducing themselves and their party policies to the people.

The Burmese people have had tough luck with elections. No elections they have had so far has been free, fair and inclusive. The elections, even in the so-called ‘‘constitutional era (1948-1962),’’ were little short of ‘‘procedural democracy’’ for two reasons—the civil war had disenfranchised much of the population and the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League (AFPFL) government had admittedly abused its power to win all the elections.