Politics

Since 1948 there have been several coups in Myanmar.  Up until the coup of 1948, Myanmar followed the guidelines of its constitution regarding governance.  Then in  1962, that government was removed and a new constitution was implemented in 1974.  Until its suspension by a military coup in 1988, the new constitution was the basis for the government.

Once the military took power, until elections took place they established a State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) to govern Myanmar.  When the elections did take place in 1990, the SLORC was soundly defeated but refused to turn over control of the government to the incumbent civilian party until they had written a new constitution.  To aid them in this, they started a convention to help in writing the constitution and those civilian winners not jailed were asked to participate along with delegates selected by the SLORC.  Even after years of sporadic meetings since 1993, a constitution has yet to be written.