Interview: Myanmar’s Election Body ‘Will Hold Elections in Townships Where it is Safe’


2020.08.14
myanmar-union-election-commission-members-naypyidaw-jun4-2020.jpg Members of the Union Election Commission wear face masks during a press conference in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, June 4, 2020.
Associated Press

Election officials in Myanmar are preparing for the country’s general elections on Nov. 8 in which nearly 100 political parties are fielding candidates to compete for 1,171 seats available in both houses of the national parliament and in state and regional legislatures. While about 37.5 million voters of Myanmar’s total population of 54 million are eligible to cast ballots, it remains unclear whether election authorities will hold voting in volatile Rakhine state, where government forces have been fighting the rebel Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine for the past 20 months.

Nevertheless, the Rakhine State Election Subcommission has prepared nearly all of the state’s roughly 2,600 polling stations for balloting by 1.6 million eligible voters in Rakhine, should elections be held there. Hla Thein, chairman of the Union Election Commission, the national-level body responsible for organizing and overseeing elections and for vetting parliamentary candidates, with reporter Aye Aye Mon about possible balloting in Rakhine’s conflict zones, Rohingya voters, and Muslim candidates who want to run for parliamentary seats. The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

RFA: With regard to the situation in Rakhine state, have you completed the voter lists for all townships?

Hla Thein: We are soliciting the opinions of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defense to determine the viability of holding elections in Rakhine state. Once we have the information, we will hold the elections in townships where it is safe to do so.

RFA: When do you think the UEC will announce whether elections will be held there?

Hla Thein: The situation in Rakhine is changing all the time. If we announce the elections too early, the situation could be change for the worse in the meantime and become unfeasible for holding them, so we would rather wait until the last minute. If the situation is not stable enough up to the time limit we set, then we will not hold the elections.

RFA: Do you have tentative agreements with the Myanmar military for which townships it can guarantee security for the balloting, and for which townships it cannot?

Hla Thein: We do, but so far, we cannot confirm that. The situation could improve or remain the same in some townships. We are still monitoring the progress.

RFA: So as of now, the prospect of holding elections in Rakhine state is not yet definite?

Hla Thein: We will just be suspending the election. If the situation becomes stable enough to hold an election later, then we can hold by-elections in these areas within the next five years. Any election that is held before next general election is considered a by-election. The people have to wait until that time.

RFA: Rohingya Muslims, whom Myanmar refers to as Bengalis, live in townships in northern Rakhine state where elections were held in 2010 and 2015. What about this time around? Will the UEC issue registered voter lists for these people?

Hla Thein: We have already compiled the voter lists in the townships where we conducted the voter surveys. In addition, voters must be 18 years old and above, and their status should be in one of the categories of full citizens, associate [guest] citizens, or naturalized citizens. If they are not in one of these categories, they will not be on the voter lists no matter where they live.

RFA: Twenty-five Muslim candidates have submitted applications with election authorities to run in the upcoming elections. Most of the Muslim candidates were rejected in the 2015 elections. As the head of the UEC, can you say whether these 25 will be rejected?

Hla Thein: We are not approving candidates based on their race and religion. Regardless of their race and religion, we approve all candidates if they fulfill the qualifications required to be a candidate.

RFA: Will elections be held in all townships of Shan state?

Hla Thein: We have announced that elections will be held in Shan state. In previous elections, we could not hold elections in areas like the Wa region because not everyone in that region has a citizenship certificate. Citizenship is one of the requirements to vote. But they have their regional ID cards that certify they are members of particular ethnic groups. Without these certifications, we cannot hold the election in these areas. We are still in negotiation over that.

Reported by Aye Aye Mon for RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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