Myanmar general elections to be held November 8

2015-07-08

A man checks voter lists in the village of Wartheinkha, in Kawtmu township, some two hours outside Yangon, July 4, 2015. AFP

Myanmar's general election will be held on Nov. 8, the country's Union Election Commission (UEC) announced Wednesday, setting the stage for a contest between the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

Than Sein, the chairman of the Tanintharyi Region Election Commission, confirmed the date of the election Wednesday and told RFA's Myanmar Service that he was awaiting further details from the UEC.

"The Union Election Commission informed me this morning on the phone that the election will be held on Nov. 8," he said, adding that he had yet to receive an official notice from the UEC.

The election outcome will determine who holds the seats in Myanmar's bicameral parliament for the next five years based on 330 constituencies for the lower house and 168 constituencies for the upper house. The two sides of parliament would nominate and vote on a president after the seats are filled.

Also in play are 644 constituencies for state and regional parliaments, as well as 29 for ethnic ministers.

Myanmar has 83 registered political parties which must contest at least three constituencies to take part in the polls. Parties must submit candidate lists to the UEC between July 20 and Aug. 8, and will be permitted to campaign within 60 days of the election.

November's polls are seen as a key test for Myanmar as it struggles with democratic reforms introduced by President Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government since it came to power following a 2010 ballot that the NLD boycotted and which was widely seen as neither free nor fair.

The NLD has not run in national elections since 1990 when it swept the polls, but the results were ignored by the then-ruling military junta. The party has not officially announced that it will contest this year's elections, though it is expected to do well if it decides to take part.

With only four months to go until votes are cast, some members of the public expressed concerns over a number of obstacles they said remain before Myanmar can hold a free election.

May Zon, a university student, told RFA she believes that recent unrest surrounding a restrictive education law, Myanmar's minimum wage and a controversial mine development project had been sown by the government to demonstrate a need for stability ahead of the ballot.

"[The authorities] have always played dirty in politics and want to distract the people – I suspect that the recent unrest was stirred up by the government," she said.

"I am very worried for [Aung San Suu Kyi] about whether her party will win or not. I feel that people will suffer for this election. [The authorities] have destroyed everything in the country, so they should do what the people want this time."

Voter lists

Others bemoaned a number of flaws such as duplicate names and names of the deceased on voter lists for the upcoming election, which has seen the NLD run campaigns to check and amend the lists in townships around the country.

Poet Sithu Nyein told RFA that his name was not on the voter list and called the flawed rolls the "most important problem" ahead of the ballot.

"I feel that something bad will happen [during the election] after seeing the voting list problem," he said.

"I was very excited to vote before, but now I have little interest. We have to learn lessons from the experiences we had in the past and we also must decide how to proceed very carefully."

Reports suggest that voter registration during the 2010 elections was manipulated in favor of the USDP, which consists of retired generals and members loyal to the former military regime – particularly through the country's advance voting system.

Retired judicial employee Thaung Oo echoed Sithu Nyein's concerns, saying the flawed voter lists had led him to expect that the November elections would be unfair.

"There are huge mistakes on the voter lists and I am worried about whether people will realize if they are not on the list, and if the lists can be corrected in time," he said.

"If we don't have a free and fair election, there will be more unrest and clashes."

Election officials on Wednesday acknowledged errors on voter lists, saying technical faults and staff shortages were to blame, but pledging to correct the flaws by the time of the election.

A housewife named Khin Ma Ma told RFA that the people of Myanmar had suffered under their government and said the upcoming polls would be rigged in its favor.

"Although we know they will do what they want, we are asking for a government of representatives who don't work only for themselves," she said.

"Aung San Suu Kyi might make wrong decisions from time to time, but at least we know that she isn't only working for her own benefit."

Amendments voted down

The announcement of the election date comes after months of speculation, and just two weeks after lawmakers voted down a number of proposed amendments to the country's junta-written 2008 constitution, including Article 59(f), which would have allowed people with foreign family members to become president.

Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from becoming president because her two children are British citizens, as was her late husband.

Parliament also shot down a change to Article 436(a) which would have lowered the share of parliamentary votes required to approve charter reform to 70 percent from more than 75 percent, along with a proposal to limit the veto power of military lawmakers who are guaranteed a quarter of legislative seats through appointment.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have repeatedly said the election cannot be free or fair if the constitution is not amended.

The only one of six proposed constitutional amendments approved by lawmakers on June 25 was a change to Article 59(d), which states that the country's president and vice presidents "shall be well acquainted with the affairs of the Union such as political, administrative, economics and military."

The proposal will now go to a national referendum, to be held alongside the general election, which requires more than 50 percent of voters to approve charter changes that receive 75 percent of lawmaker approval. In this case, they will have to vote on replacing the word "military" with "defense."

On Wednesday, parliament voted down the remainder of proposed changes to Article 436(a), including greater powers for state and regional governments and legislatures, such as wider control over revenue generation and the right to choose chief ministers, who are currently selected by the president.

Aye Maung, a lawmaker with the Arakan National Party (ANP) said Wednesday's vote had disappointed Myanmar's ethnic minorities, who are fighting for greater autonomy and political representation in the nation's legislature.

"We lost what all people and the ethnic groups wanted at parliament today, as the constitution was written by the former military government, which had direct power – it created a constitution that can only be changed if the military agrees," he said.

"Now, the people can see that the Union Parliament can only act if the military wants it to."

Reported by Zin Mar Win, Khet Mar, Win Ko Ko Latt and Khin Khin Ei for RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.

Link to original story on RFA website