<p>With the National League for Democracy (NLD)&nbsp;<a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=72826759&amp;msgid=909868&amp;act=98NZ&amp;c=348258&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dvb.no%2Fnews%2Fnld-officially-wins-outright-majority-myanmar%2F59185">cementing its place</a>&nbsp;as the incoming government by achieving a supermajority in Parliament, the ongoing armed conflict in northern Burma, especially in Shan State, only highlights the pressing need for the new government to facilitate a genuine and inclusive peace process that works towards national reconciliation.<br /></p>

<p>On 4 November, Human Rights Watch (HRW)&nbsp;<a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=72826759&amp;msgid=909526&amp;act=98NZ&amp;c=348258&amp;destination=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hrw.org%2Fnews%2F2015%2F11%2F04%2Fburma-election-fundamentally-flawed">released</a>&nbsp;a briefing on the fundamental flaws of Burma’s 2015 elections. Among numerous shortcomings, the statement highlighted the unapologetically biased nature of the Union Election Commission (UEC); an electoral body that should encourage the elections to be democratic – not influence them.</p>

<p>On 27 October 2015, the Union Election Commission (UEC)<a href="http://www.dvb.no/news/elections-cancelled-in-4-shan-townships-myanmar/58539">announced</a>&nbsp;that elections would be cancelled in four townships in Shan State as a result of the newly intensified fighting between the Burma Army and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N).<a href="http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-army-launch-assault-on-shan-army-hq-myanmar/58568">According</a>&nbsp;to the Shan State Progressive Party, the political wing of the SSA-N, the Burma Army was seen to ramp up attacks against the SSA-N after they deliberated t</p>

<p>The process of advanced voting in Burma has begun amid much confusion and contradiction.&nbsp;<a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=72826759&amp;msgid=909123&amp;act=98NZ&amp;c=348258&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mmtimes.com%2Findex.php%2Fnational-news%2F17146-advanced-voting-prompts-confusion.html">According</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;The Myanmar Times, election commission officials have offered countering details regarding the timeline of the advanced voting and foreign observers have reported being unaware &nbsp;that the process had even begun.</p>

<p>Myanmar will hold general elections on November 8, 2015, the first multi-party elections in 25 years since the result of 1990 general elections, held after the 8.8.88 democracy uprising, was rejected.<br /></p>

<p>On Friday 9 October, 2015, Burma Partnership released the&nbsp;<a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=72826759&amp;msgid=908706&amp;act=98NZ&amp;c=348258&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.burmapartnership.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F10%2FElections-for-Ethnic-Equality-Layout-11-points.pdf">report</a>&nbsp;Elections for Ethnic Equality? A Snapshot of Ethnic Perspectives on the 2015 Elections&nbsp;at the Royal Rose Restaurant, Rangoon.</p>

<p>The Union Election Commission has&nbsp;<a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=72826759&amp;msgid=907882&amp;act=98NZ&amp;c=348258&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dvb.no%2Fnews%2F2015-election-women-account-for-13-of-candidates-burma-myanmar%2F57024">announced</a>&nbsp;that of the 6,189 candidates that registered for the 2015 elections on 8 November, only 800 are women.</p>

<p>On 20 August, the Union Election Commission (UEC)&nbsp;<a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=72826759&amp;msgid=907652&amp;act=98NZ&amp;c=348258&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fglobalnewlightofmyanmar.com%2Fuec-announces-preliminary-candidate-lists%2F">announced</a>the preliminary candidate lists for the upcoming 8 November General Election. So far, 5,866 candidates have been nominated from 93 political parties across the country, with both the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National League for Democracy (NLD) each fielding over 1,000 candidates.</p>

<p>Eleven States and Regions of Myanmar are encountering inundation and deluges with millions of people facing flooding distress. The floods, that began two weeks ago, have affected hundreds of thousands of people in Sagaing, Bago and Ayeyarwaddy Divisions as well as in Kachin, Chin and Arakan States, and these areas are urgently in need of emergency relief and aid. Dozens of people have perished in the floods and more than eight hundred thousand acres of farmland are submerged, according to numerous reports.<br /></p>

<p>Four workshops organized by civil society organizations were forced late last night to move their workshops to La Palaranda hotel, away from the main venue of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN People&rsquo;s Forum (APF), the Lucky Star Hotel (on Street 336, Phnom Penh). Three of the workshops dealt with land rights, eviction and environment issues and the fourth focused on Burma&rsquo;s currentpolitical and human rights situation and the challenges this poses to the country&rsquo;s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014.</p>