Section (3) Political and Social Attitudes

1. Please tell me how you feel about the following statements. Would you say you (1) strongly agree, (2) somewhat agree, (3) somewhat disagree, or (4) strongly disagree? (7) *Do not understand the question, (8) *Can't choose, (9) *Decline to answer

1) In a group, we should sacrifice our individual interest for the sake of the group's collective interest.

2) I think I have the ability to participate in politics.

3) When a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law come into conflict, even if the mother-in-law is in the wrong, the husband should still persuade his wife to obey his mother.

4) If one could have only one child, it is more preferable to have a boy than a girl.

5) In politics, women should not be involved as much as men.

6) If a woman earns more money than her husband, it's almost certain to cause problems.

7) I would support my daughter to join parties and participate in politics if she so wished.

8) When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women.

2. I prefer to have neighbours who are of the same religion than to have neighbours who are from a different religion.

1) Strongly agree

2) Agree

3) Neither agree nor disagree

4) Disagree

5) Strongly disagree

6) Refuse to answer

Section (4) Political Knowledge and Attitudes

1. I am going to name a number of institutions. For each one, please tell me how much trust do you have in them? Is it (1) a great deal of trust, (2) quite a lot of trust, (3) not very much trust, (4) none at all? [For the enumerator: Mark 97 as “No answer/Don't know” and 98 as “Refuse to answer”]

1) The president

2) State/Region government

3) Political parties (not any specific party)

4) National Parliament

5) Civil service

6) The military

7) The police

8) Ward/Village/Tract Administrator

9) Health care administration

10) Education professionals (teachers, etc.)

2. Could you tell me for each whether you trust people from this group (1) completely, (2) somewhat, (3) not very much, (4) not at all? [For the enumerator: Mark 97 as “No answer/Don't know” and 98 as “Refuse to answer”]

1) Your neighborhood

2) People of another religion

3) People of another nationality

Party Recruitment, Candidate Selection and Attitudes Towards Political Leadership (Gatekeepers)

Personal Political Experiences

1. Please describe your occupational/educational background (Icebreaking question).

2. Did you have any experience participating in politics or public life before joining party?

3. What were your main motivations for becoming involved in politics/ party?

4. Has anyone else in your family been involved in politics? If so, please give details.

5. How many years have you been an active member of ______________ party? (ask only if you cannot get the information publicly)

6. Has your participation in politics resulted in any difficulties or improvements in your home life?

7. Did you face any harassment or intimidation being a party gatekeeper? (Note to interviewer: this can be in the form of online, social media, verbal harassment, physical threats, attacks or exclusion from places to campaign)

Intra Party Rules and Candidate Selection Procedures

8. Please tell me how people in your party get chosen to be members of central committee (CC) or central executive committee (CEC)?

9. Different levels of candidate selection:

a. Did your Central Committee play an important role in selecting candidates?

b. Did your Township Chairman play an important role in selecting candidates?

c. Were there other individuals who played a key role in the candidate selection process? (please identify gender)

10. Experience in Party Positions:

a. Have you held any position within your party? (e.g. Central committee, township committee, Youth wing, Women's wing)

b. If so, how did you get chosen for that position?

11. How do people in your party get chosen to become members of the party's township committee? (prompt to interviewer: please record separately the process for: i) chairperson, ii) secretary, and iii) other positions)

12. Can you explain more of your party's rules, criteria and procedures in selecting candidates for the last general election? (Please check if there is an internal election process, check if ordinary party members have a chance to be nominated as candidates). Can you describe the process in more detail?

13. Can the ordinary party members decide who the party nominates as a candidate for a general election?

14. If you could change the rules and procedures used by your party for candidate selection, what would you change?

The Arakan National Party (ANP) was the product of a merger between the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP) and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) and was registered with the Union Election Commission (UEC) on 6 March 2014. At the time of their founding, ANP's goals were “federalism”, “democratisation”, and “development”, but in practice the party has had a strong focus on Rakhine nationalism. Previously, the RNDP, led by Dr Aye Maung, was registered on 6 May 2010 and won a total of 32 seats in the 2010 elections. The ALD was founded in 1989 and ran in the 1990 election, winning 11 seats. The ALD re-registered with the UEC in 2012, before combining with the RNDP to form the ANP in 2014. The party claimed to have township executive committees (TECs) in 17 townships and more than 20,000 members in 2020.

Dr Manam Tu Ja, former vice president of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), attempted to register the Kachin State Progressive Party with the UEC for the 2010 elections. He was controversially prevented from doing so, like the other ethnic Kachin parties. He then founded the Kachin State Democracy Party (KSDP) in 2013, and, at the second attempt, on 13 January 2014. The KSDP claimed to have around 13,000 members in 2015. The KSDP was merged with three other ethnic Kachin parties to form the Kachin State People's Party.

The LNDP was registered with the UEC on 17 December 2013, with the aim of representing the Lisu people in Myanmar and promoting the development of that ethnicity. The LNDP has a close cooperative relationship with the USDP. The party claimed to have TECs in 18 townships and around 11,000 members in 2020.

The Mon Democratic Front was established in 1988 and ran in the 1990 elections, winning 5 seats. The party re-registered with the UEC after the 2010 elections, using the name the Mon Democratic Party. In 2014, the party joined with a few MPs from the All Mon Region Democracy Party and changed its name to the Mon National Party. In 2018 (overlapping the start of our field research) the MNP merged with other ethnic Mon parties to form the Mon Party.

Focus Group Guide for Field Data Collection

Interview Guide Used for Field Data Collection