2010 election in Burma

On Nov. 7 Myanmar's military rulers held the country's first election in twenty years. Because parties backed by the military are assured of victory, it's unclear whether the outcome of the vote will make any difference to ordinary Burmese. As the NY Times puts it, "The process was expected to cement military rule behind a civilian facade but also to open the door slightly to possible shifts in the dynamics of power." Foreign journalists have not been allowed to cover the election, and some Western diplomats in Rangoon are refusing to participate in junta-sponsored tours of polling stations.

• Pollard's photos of a protest against the election in London.
• Photos of a protest held in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burma border.
• Reuters live-blog of the elections. 

The Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) has a fantastic live-updating map tracking developments across Burma relating to the election.  Incidents of violence, arrests, coercion, harassment are presented as color-coded tabs which you can click on to read a report.   Another such interactive tool is Burma Partnership's election tracker.  

DVB has also posted a video secretly taken from inside a Burmese polling station, along with several other election day clips.  Blogger Newley has links to background and analysis.

Tweets to follow:
http://twitter.com/forestmat
http://twitter.com/Jotman/burma-news-all