On a steamy Myanmar night, people dared to believe

DOZENS of people sat in the darkness, waiting patiently at the polling station gates. It was more than an hour before sunrise and the start of voting, but no one was complaining. After all, this was the first time in a quarter century that these people were getting to participate in openly-contested national elections.

“Do you think your vote will matter today?” I asked Zaw Win, a smiling 67-year old man who waved a victory sign as light began to break.