Election
- Myanmar
Of millions of Myanmar migrants in Thailand, just a fraction set to vote
The details of that morning 25 years ago are hazy but Than Than Aye remembers vividly the palpable excitement as an 18-year-old voting in her first election. She does not remember who she voted for in the 1990 elections- possibly Aung San Suu Kyi’s party – but recalls putting the voting slip in the ballot box in a small town in Mon state in eastern Myanmar. “I’m so eager to vote,” said Than Than Aye, who has been working in Thailand for close to 20 years, of the upcoming elections on Nov. 8. “Of course I would vote for Daw Suu. If the leader is good, the country will become better. And if the country prospers, we will too,” she added, laughing. Yet on Oct. 17, when Myanmar nationals living in neighbouring Thailand cast advance ballots for the elections, Than Than Aye will not be in the queue. Neither will hundreds of thousands of her compatriots. Around 3,000 voters have registered for advance voting at the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok, Win Maung, Myanmar’s ambassador to Thailand, told Myanmar Now in a telephone interview. That is just a tiny fraction of the estimated 2.5 to 3 million Myanmar workers toiling away…
- Myanmar
Will there be any Muslim MPs in Myanmar’s Parliament?
On Nov. 8, Myanmar will go to the polls in what has been billed as the first free and fair parliamentary election in 25 years, yet the marginalisation of the Muslim community has left local and international observers concerned about how democratic the vote will be. Of the more than 6,000 candidates running in the elections, the overwhelming majority of them are Buddhist, and only 28 are Muslim, representing just 0.5 percent of candidates, according to the final list of candidates released by the Union Election Commission (UEC). Muslims make up about 5 percent of the country’s predominantly Buddhist population. The UEC has rejected more than a hundred would-be candidates, mostly Muslims, stating that their parents were not recognised as citizens yet at the time of the candidates’ birth, meaning their candidacy would be in violation of the Elections Law. The decision has raised concerns among rights groups and observers, and regional lawmakers warned it could “undermine the credibility of the contest”. “In any other country the rejection of an entire class of candidates would render the contest itself undemocratic,” Charles Santiago, a member of parliament from Malaysia and chairperson of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights said in a…
- Myanmar
‘A new government should be able to end any riot’
Hla Toe, vice chairman of the Kaman National Progressive Party, is contesting for a Lower House seat in Yangon’s Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township, in the Nov. 8 elections. The Kaman are a recognized Muslim minority who live mostly in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Despite their legal status, they have become ensnared in the inter-communal conflict between Buddhist Rakhine and stateless Rohingya Muslims in the north of the state. In an interview with Myanmar Now reporter Ei Cherry Aung, the 56-year-old former teacher talked about the Kaman’s problems, his party’s campaign and the country’s political situation. Question: In which constituencies will your party contest? Answer: We have total of four men who are candidates – two candidates will run in Rakhine State and two in Yangon Region. Q: Why didn’t you field any women candidates? A: There are three women among our 15 central executive committee members. Although we suggested they contest in the upcoming elections they could not do so for several reasons. Q: You have most support among the Kaman in Rakhine State but you are also contesting in Yangon. Why? A: I did not win in Rakhine State during the 2010 general elections because the number of Kaman…
- Myanmar
Trials of a first-time voter in Myanmar
It was early afternoon, but the small prayer hall was dark, its walls and pillars lined with wooden boards with sheets of A4 paper glued to them. I found my name midway through the page on the sheet in the furthest corner, wedged between my mother’s and my sister’s. My eyes tracked to the information to the right of my name. My national ID card number, followed by my birthday. It was all correct except the year of my birth – the same mistake I had noted when the first voter list was displayed. I had duly submitted the form 3 (A) to correct it and yet here it was, wrong once again. The local authorities were apologetic and assured me I would still be able to vote come Election Day despite the mistake in the voter list. “It’s the software. Some people whose names were on the list the first time now can’t find them this time,” whispered a middle-aged official, perhaps to say others have it worse. I submitted another 3 (A) form, determined that nothing should scupper my chance to vote. You see, this is the first time in my life that I’ll be voting. I was…
- Myanmar
Beyond NLD, Yangon voters stumped on smaller parties
It’s the National League for Democracy or nothing, according to a straw poll of voters in Yangon townships carried out with four weeks to go before Myanmar’s Nov. 8 election. Myanmar Now carried out dozens of interviews in three townships in the commercial capital Yangon to gauge the public’s mood and political inclinations. Among 45 people interviewed in Hlaing Tharyar, Mingalar Taung Nyunt and Thingangyun constituencies, 29 said they intend to vote for Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD, although for varying reasons. Strikingly, the remainder of those who did not have a clear preference for the NLD said they had little interest in voting or the elections in general. In comments that would worry independent candidates and those from smaller parties, almost all were unaware of other political parties beyond the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the opposition NLD. Only four interviewees said they would decide who to vote for after scrutinising the candidates. The interviews in the three constituencies – where around half a million voters have been registered so far, according to Union Election Commission officials – provide a snapshot of the public’s perceptions and aspirations ahead of what has been billed as Myanmar’s first…
