General elections were held in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

on 26 November 1936. The Government of Burma Act 1935 separated Burma from

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

as of 1 April 1937, and created a 36-seat Senate and a 132-seat House of Representatives."Legislature and Electors Burma at the Polls", The Times, 20 April 1937, p37, Issue 47663 The pro-constitution

United GCBA The United GCBA, also known as the Ngawbinwsaing ( Burmese for "Five Flowers Alliance"), was a political party in Burma led by U Ba Pe. History The party was formed in 1936 as a successor to the People's Party, and gained its name "Five Flower ...

of U Ba Pe emerged as the largest bloc in the House of Representatives, winning 46 seats. However, few parties were willing to work with U Ba Pe,"Divided Burma: Launching The Constitution", ''The Times'', 11 February 1937, p13, Issue 47606 and the Governor invited

Ba Maw Ba Maw ( my, ဘမော်, ; 8 February 1893 – 29 May 1977) was a Burmese lawyer and political leader, active during the interwar and World War II periods. Dr. Ba Maw is a descendant of the Mon Dynasty. He was the first Burma Premier ...

to form a government,"Burma On Her Own First Year Of Separation, State In The Making", ''The Times'', 14 April 1938, p13, Issue 47969 despite his Poor Man's Party winning only 16 seats. Maw became Chief Minister after forming a coalition with Chit Hlaing and other "moderate extremists"."The Imperial Conference Opening Speeches, Expressions Of Common Loyalty ", ''The Times'', 15 May 1937, p17, Issue 47685

Electoral system

The 132 seats in House of Representatives consisted of 91 members elected in single-member non-communal constituencies and 41 members elected from reserved seats. However, large areas of the country in the north and east including the

Shan States The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called '' muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India. The term "Shan States" was fi ...

remained directly governed by the Governor and did not elect members of the House. Half of the 36 seats in the Senate were appointed by the Governor, whilst the remaining half were elected by members of the House of Representatives.

Campaign

Several of the reserved seats were uncontested, including Bassein North (Karen), Mandalay Indian Urban, the three-member European constituency, the Burmese Chamber of Commerce seat, the Nakkukottai Chettyar's Association seat, the five-member Burma Chamber of Commerce constituency, the Rangoon Trades Association seat and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce seat.

Results

Aftermath

Despite winning the most seats, the United GCBA was unable to form a government as the party began to split soon after the elections. This allowed the Poor Man's Party to put together a coalition government which took power in March 1937; it included former People's Party member U Pu, U Paw Tun from the

Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA The Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA was a political party in Burma led by Chit Hlaing. History One of several parties originating from the General Council of Burmese Associations, the Hlaing-Myat-Paw GCBA was a merger of the factions led by Chit Hlaing and ...

Saw Pe Tha A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

from the Karen group and

U Htoon Aung Gyaw U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pr ...

from the Arakanese. Poor Man's Party MPs

U Tharrawaddy Maung Maung U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last letter and fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''u'' (pr ...

and

Thein Maung Thein Maung ( my, သိန်းမောင်; January 2, 1891—May 23, 1946) was a Burmese politician and a medical doctor. He was the first Burmese ambassador to Japan and was one of the 21-leader members of the YMBA and the GCBA. Early l ...

were also appointed to the cabinet, whilst Chit Hlaing became

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

. The government also gained support from the commercial MPs, many of the Poor Man's Party's more radical campaign promises were dropped.Cady, p385

References

{{Burmese elections

Elections in Myanmar 1936 in Burma Election and referendum articles with incomplete results