1988 Burmese General Election

General Elections were held in Burma on October 30, 1988 to elect 440 members of the House of Representatives and 135 members of the House of Nationalities. It was the first free election since the the violent collapse of the socialist system led by the Burmese Socialist Program Party, with Ne Win as General Secretary. Polls were open early at 6 A.M. local time firstly in Yangoon, then in the rest of the country 575 constituencies which were to elect representatives.

The NLD won a sweeping victory and secured an absolute majority in both chambers which would then elect the President of the Union of Myanmar and it's Vice President. The Patriotic Salvation Front, overall, performed in an excellent way in urban centers such as Rangoon, Nadpyday and Doban. The event was followed and televised nationwide and international press was present with UN inspectors to guarantee regular course in the election.

Background
The Burmese Socialist Party Programme led the country under a totalitarian regime from 1974 until 1986 with Senior General Mlang Daban assuming power in 1962 and ruling the country through martial law for 12 years until 1974, when a civil government was formed. Daban was elected as General Secretary of the BSPP in the 1st Congress held in Yangoon on March 3, 1974.

During that period, the role of the military significantly increased in gigantic proportions, infiltrating in every corner of the society and ultimately controlling all aspects of daily life. Overall, Daban's administration focused on leading Burma towards an autharchic economic system where every sector would be supervised and financed by the state. Such directives were approved in the "Thesis for the People's Prosperity" on May 7, 1975. Political rights and liberties were suppressed in favor of one-party rule, telephones were tapped and short-circuit cameras installed in every street. The BSPP attempted to build a cult of personality around Daban by installing portraits, statues and propaganda material after the 2nd Congress held on June 30, 1981 where Daban was re-elected for a new 7 year term.

In 1985, the United Nations Development Council gave Burma the status of "least developed nation". Despite the party attempts to censore this, concerning situation developments were recorded in the Shan State townships, with citizens demanding the resignation of General Secretary Daban and his own government. The protests quickly escalated, with general disorders reported in all major cities including the capital Yangoon.

On 30 January 1986 Duban resigned, and a new congress was quickly organized to elect a new General Secretary. Noam Klay, a senior civil servant within the party, was elected. He then secretly ordered the execution of 3500 protest leaders, while announcing the dissolution of the one party system and scheduling elections no later than 25 December 1989. Protests halted, but then resumed under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, an emerging figure from protesters. Tensions were growing, as evidence of Klay corruption and crimes surfaced, on 8 August 1988 a General Strike was launched and over 1,000,000 protesters were reported to be active in Yangoon. On August 11, Klay traveled to attend a regional summit in Laos, and then faxed his resignation to the state controlled General Assembly. On September 15, the BSPP dismissed Klay from his duties as General Secretary. A senior cadre of the party said "The Army will intervene. If it does so, the Army wont shoot in the air. It shoots straight to kill". Three days later, battalions led by Senior General Than Shwe stormed government residences and created an interim administration to deal with disorders. Shwe announced a General Election for October 30, and announced that the Army would honor the results.

The PSF was victorious, and Shwe announced a peaceful transition to power on November 2. After that, soldiers returned to barracks.

Than Shwe would nextly serve as a National Security Advisor to President Kyi.

Preparations
The National Democracy League announced it would contest all 575 constituencies and designating Aung San Suu Kyi as the political leader of the party and coalition. Saw Maung, a retired Senior General, ran with his Union Free Party and announced he would contest the Yangoon North Constituency.