On May 10, the Burmese people will vote on a new constitution, a rare opportunity for the Burmese to express their political opinions about the ruling military junta's protracted path to "guided democracy."

In the latest edition of the East-West Center in Washington's Asia Pacific Bulletin series of issue briefs on current events, Zaw Oo, professor of international development at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, argues that, while the May referendum represents a significant step forward for the Burmese political process, procedural mishaps, opacity about the language of the constitution itself, and an imminent clash between the state news media's "yes vote" and the Burmese democracy movement's "no vote" campaigns may negatively impact the referendum process.

Click here to download a free pdf version of Prof. Zaw Oo's article, “Burma’s Referendum in 2008: Dangerous Status Quo or Critical Breakthrough?”