At stake in this election:

• 224 seats in the Nationalities Assembly (Amyotha Hluttaw)
• 440 seats in the People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Chairman of the SPDC THAN SHWE *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Lt. Gen. THEIN SEIN
• Assembly: Myanmar has a bicameral People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) consisting of the Nationalities Assembly (Amyotha Hluttaw) with 224 seats and the People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw) with 440 seats.

* SPDC=State Peace and Development Council

Description of electoral system:

• The Chairman of the SPDC is allocated ex officio.
• In the Nationalities Assembly (Amyotha Hluttaw), 168 members are elected in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 56 members are reserved by the military. In the People's Assembly (Pyithu Hluttaw), 330 members are elected in single-member constituencies and 110 members are reserved by the military.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP)
  • Leader: THEIN Sein
• Party: National Unity Party (NUP)
  • Leader: TUN Yi
• Party: Democratic Party (DP)
  • Leader: N/A
• Party: Shan Nationalities League for Democracy
  • Leader: N/A
• Party: National Democratic Force (NDF)*****
  • Leader: THAN Nyein

***** The NDF was formed by a breakaway faction of the now National League for Democracy (NLD), which was banned by the government.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 51,733,013 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 29,021,608 (November 2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 26,480,739 (2010)

·         Is Myanmar a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Myanmar ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (22 July 1997)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 14 (House of Representatives); 6 (House of Nationalities) following the 2010 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 148 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Myanmar a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Myanmar ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (7 December 2011)

·         Population with a disability: 7,759,951 (est.)