Burma’s parliamentary and by- elections 45 seats in the national legislature are being contested. 160 candidates from 17 parties and eight independents are running. Legislature comprised of 440 seat lower house, 224 seat senate, 14 regional assemblies. 25 percent of seats chosen by armed forces commander and reserved for military personnel. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 76 percent of the vote in 2010. Constitution limits lawmakers’ powers. Voters in Burma have begun casting ballots in parliamentary elections seen as a crucial test of the country’s democratic reform progress. Candidates in Sunday polls are vying for 45 seats in the 664-seat parliament in the first by-elections since the new nominally civilian government took office in March of last year. Main opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for Democracy, is running for the first time since 1990 when her party won a landslide victory in general elections.  At the time, the military leaders refused to relinquish power and kept her in some form of detention for most of the next 20 years. The National League for Democracy is contesting 44 seats.  The group boycotted the 2010 elections, the first after two decades in Burma, because their iconic leader and Nobel Laureate was not permitted to run. Aung San Suu Kyi was released from house arrest shortly after the November 2010 elections and got actively engaged in the political process.  She is widely expected to win because of her popularity. Whatever the outcome, the by-elections will not give the opposition enough parliamentary power to achieve its goal of revising the constitution, which secures overwhelming power for the military. Aung San Suu Kyi has said she does not expect Burma’s election to be fair, but said it is still significant. For the first time, the government has invited a small number of foreign observers and journalists to witness the elections. The official results are expected about a week after polling. A Look at some of major political parties for the April 1st by-election: National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi’s party was founded in 1988 after a popular uprising Won the 1990 parliamentary elections in a landslide but results never recognized by the military regime Boycotted 2010 elections and was stripped of legal party status Contesting 44 seats Union Solidarity and Development Party Current ruling party Formed by current President Thein Sein and other members of military junta Won vast majority in 2010 election Contesting all 45 seats It will retain its majority in parliament regardless of the results National Democratic Force Formed by breakaway NLD members Won several seats in the 2010 election Contesting about 10 seats Shan Nationalities League for Democracy The second largest winning party in the 1990 elections Boycotted the 2010 elections Often sides with Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD party Shan Nationalities Democratic Party Widely known as the White Tiger Party Won 57 seats in the 2010 elections Contesting seats in only a handful of constituencies National Unity Party Formed bythe military junta and members of the former Burma Socialist Program Party Defeated badly by the NLD in 1990 elections Fielded the second highest number of candidates in the 2010 election but defeated badly again Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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One of the most closely-watched U.S. Supreme Court cases in years began Monday as oral arguments got under way in a legal challenge to President Barack Obama’s health care law – the signature achievement of his presidency so far. Analysts say the outcome of the case likely will affect this year’s presidential election as well as the scope and cost of health care coverage in the United States for decades to come. The health care case drew scores of demonstrators to the Supreme Court steps, both in favor of and opposed to the law. At times, impromptu debates broke out between the two sides, but the scene remained civil and peaceful. Ed Hale is among those supporting the health care reform act. He said “it is unfortunate it was passed during the ‘great recession.’” “It puts people in a foul mood. “But there is a 100-year struggle to pass this sort of law, and it is time to do it. It is time to join the rest of the world.” A woman named Daveta, wearing a union T-shirt, also supports the law because it extends health care coverage to millions of people who cannot afford health insurance. “Because we all need health care. And you know, it is not so much those that have it, but those who don’t have it, Daveta said. “I’m out here because I got it and it’s good but I’m [also] out here for those who don’t have it.” Related video report by Carolyn Presutti: But there were plenty of protestors against the law, including Ken Campbell, a California dentist. He objects to a part of the law that requires everyone to buy some form of health insurance coverage by 2014 or face a penalty.“ These bureaucrats in Washington, they do not know the name of my family,” said Campbell. “They do not know the names of my kids. They do not need to be telling my family what I need to buy and what I need to do.  They need to get out of my life.” Campbell is active in a Tea Party group, as is Amy Brighton, another opponent of the Obama law from Ohio. “This bill is unconstitutional as it stands. We are not against health care reform,” Brighton said. “We are just against this current law.” The Supreme Court of the United States will hear 5 1/2 hours of oral arguments over three days, an unprecedented amount of time devoted to a single case. Supporters say the health care law will expand coverage to millions of uninsured Americans and lower health care costs in the long-term. Opponents say health care costs will soar under the law and that the quality of care will suffer. At the heart of the case is whether a majority of the nine justices on the high court will side with the Obama administration and uphold the law or take the view of opponents who argue that it is an unconstitutional intrusion of the central government into the lives of American citizens. How the court rules by the end of June could have a major impact on this year’s U.S. presidential election. Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum took the unusual step of speaking to reporters in front of the Supreme Court to repeat a pledge that he will repeal the law if he is elected president. “If we run this campaign, which I will, on ‘Obamacare’ and we make this the central issue in the campaign and we are successful, there is no doubt that ‘Obamacare’ will be repealed in one form or another,” Santorum said. Lower courts have had split decisions on legal challenges to the law, prompting the Supreme Court to take up the case and make a final judgment. Public opinion surveys show that Americans remain sharply divided over the health care law – two years after its passage by Democrats in Congress. Opposition to the law gave birth to the conservative and libertarian Tea Party movement, which, in turn, helped Republicans retake control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 congressional elections.

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The three top Republican presidential candidates are locked in a tight race, as results trickle in following primaries Tuesday in two southern U.S. states. Exit polls and early results in Alabama and Mississippi show Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are in races too close to call.   The results of the races in those two predominantly conservative states are important to each of the candidates.   Romney is hoping for victories to propel him forward and prove he can win over very conservative and evangelical Christian Republicans, who have been drawn to his main rival, former U.S. senator Santorum. Santorum wants to knock Gingrich out of the race to stand as the sole conservative challenger to Romney. Gingrich, a former U.S. House speaker, has focused his efforts on the southern vote and is hoping victory on Tuesday will make him the comeback favorite for the nomination.  Otherwise, he could face increased calls to drop out. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, is far ahead of the others in the delegate count, winning nearly 40 percent of the 1,144 needed to secure the party’s nomination.   A new Washington Post -ABC News poll shows he leads U.S. President Barack Obama in a hypothetical election match-up (49 to 47 percent), while Santorum would be in a competitive race, three points behind (46 to 49 percent) Mr. Obama, if the election were held now. The other Republican candidate, U.S. Representative Ron Paul, has not won a nominating contest.  He has single digit support in Alabama and Mississippi. The Pacific island state of Hawaii and the U.S. territory of American Samoa are holding caucus elections on Tuesday.   The Republican Party will formally nominate its presidential candidate at its convention in Tampa, Florida, in late August.  The nominee will face Mr. Obama, a Democrat, in the November election. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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