Since President U Thein Sein took power in 2011 and the country's democratic transition began, Myanmar has faced unprecedented religious violence particularly between the Muslims and Buddhists. This conflict, which originated in the Rakhine State, has spread to several other areas, most recently Mandalay in July 2014, which was under curfew for several months. The violence claimed many innocent lives, showing Myanmar's democratic transition is on a bumpy road. But no individuals or groups were "officially" found responsible for those brutal acts, proving that the country is desperately lacking the rule of law. 

What is the result of that violence in terms of political context particularly for the 2015 elections? While it is quite difficult to pinpoint why the violence started, politics in Myanmar is experiencing a new actor: religion.

The anti-Muslim 969 movement and MaBaTha (the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion) have been strong enough to have a certain influence on politics. For instance, their vocal support ensures that the parliament is now discussing enacting interfaith marriage law.

This religious tension is new. Recently, a leading Buddhist monk, U Wirathu, head of the 969 group, publicly accused UN envoy Yanghee Lee of being a "whore" for acting to protect the Rohingya or Bengali Muslim minority. This shows religion has entered into politics as his words were more those of an extremist than a spiritual leader.

Myanmar's next elections will take place in late 2015, a critical determinant for the next important steps for democratization processes. But the elections may be messy, especially with the added ingredient of religion.

For instance, some extreme religious leaders accused the National League for Democracy, a leading opposition party, of having the full support of Muslims or the "Muslim party."

They imply that in order to safeguard the faith, Buddhists should vote for the other party. Leading commentator Htun Aung Gyaw recently even wrote in Bangkok-based The Nation that Wirathu is abusing Buddhism to help the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party win the election.

This seems similar to the turmoil in 1961 when then prime minister U Nu used the religion to secure his political base by passing the State Religion Promotion Act that enshrined Buddhism as the state faith, repealed after the military coup in 1962.

Consequently, the country experienced fighting between religiously motivated armed groups, clashes between Christian ethnic groups and the Buddhist majority. Myanmese politicians must not repeat the same mistake at this time of critical transition. Enough is enough.

How can Myanmar deal with the rise of extreme religion and nationalism in this electoral process? The first thing the country needs is effective actions against extremism by the government. It is surprising that the government did not take any meaningful actions or issue warnings at least over some extreme religious groups or individual leaders. In pure Buddhism, extremes are banned, and a moderate or middle way is the best, according to the Buddha's teachings.

The government needs to make sure such extreme groups and individual leaders comply with laws preventing extremism. Rule of law is crucially important and the government must implement that.

Many religious or communal violence started from rumors from unknown sources, for instance, the claim that a Muslim man had raped a Buddhist woman in the latest case in Mandalay. The government could not provide accurate information on time; instead, its security forces were on standby, not on the streets protecting innocents. That makes the situation worse.

The existing electoral law clearly stipulates that using religion and race violates that law and violators can be harshly punished. This provision must be applied and be ensured so that every political stakeholder and religious leader understands and obeys the law. And finally, a series of interfaith dialogues should be promoted across the country especially in those areas that have many faiths.

None of those actions are so far effectively implemented on the ground. If effective preventative measures are not taken, Myanmar's democratic transition in the 2015 upcoming elections may end up with theocracy rather than a genuine democracy.

The author is an independent consultant for several development organizations inside Myanmar and also previously worked as a journalist inside the country. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn