Featured Image: Voter casting ballot in 2018, Reuters
In light of Burma’s third national election on November 8, the US Campaign for Burma will be publishing a series of blogs covering the disenfranchisement of Burma’s ethnic groups in their respective states. This is the third blog in the election series, following our first blog on Chin and Rakhine state and our second blog on Kachin and Karen state, and will cover Mon and Karenni state.
Burma’s upcoming elections have largely been of little interest to ethnic groups whose predominant concern this season, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic, is survival and security from the nation’s ongoing conflict. Ethnic Mon people in Mon state expressed their disinterest in confirming their voter registration when, on July 25th, the Mon State Election Committee (EC) reported that a mere handful of people arrived at the voting lists to check their names. The secretary of the EC stated that villagers are “prioritizing work for checking their names on the voter list because food is more important for them.” This sentiment reflects the issues surrounding Burma’s national elections overall, as true democracy has yet to be promoted due to disenfranchisement and, in the case of Mon state, the lack of prioritization of ethnic groups’ needs that de-incentives them to vote.
The EC noted that Mon state holds over 1,760,000 registered voters, a 200,000 increase from Burma’s 2015 national election. If the trend of inaccurate and outdated voter lists amongst Burma’s other ethnic states holds true for Mon state, thousands of villagers will be rendered unable to vote in November because of conditions imposed by the Burmese government that force civilians to choose survival over participating in democracy.
In addition to Mon state’s voter issues, the Mon State Immigration Department reported that over 56,000 people will be removed from the list of eligible voters in mid-August. The Departmented stated that they found 100 people on the list to be prisoners, more than 1,000 as mentally-ill, and 300,000 without National Registration Cards (NRCs). While the Department has plans to issue NRCs to eligible voters on the voting lists that do not hold NRCs, this mass elimination of voters is still an issue for IDPs and refugees who will not be residing in towns and villagers to be able to receive NRCs, much less cast their vote.
Karenni state is also facing challenges with voters and voter lists. According to the Kantarawaddy Times, the voter lists posted in Karenni village tracts contain incorrect names and registration numbers and fail to list numerous eligible voters. The Karenni State Election Commission has become aware of the discrepancies in their voter lists and stated plans to correct individuals’ names by matching ID copies- this, however, has not satisfied local villagers. A member of the Kayah Democratic Party highlighted that the Election Commission’s most recent voter lists are based on information from Burma’s 2015 census despite village administrators providing the Election Commission with more updated information. This shows the complacency and nonchalant attitude of those running the elections and should raise an alarm to the rest of the international community to support true democracy in Burma.
Karenni state election officials have asked villagers to ensure that the information listed on the public voter lists is correct- if villagers’ names are incorrect or missing, election officials have noted that individuals can fill out specific forms to change or add their names. This poses an issue for the state’s IDPs and refugees, who are more than likely to have little to no access to administrative centers where the forms are distributed or the ability and will to visit the public voter lists in the first place.
According to a technical support group based in Loikaw, COVID-19 has restricted political parties from campaigning and civil society groups from conducting voter education programs, two initiatives that are especially crucial after Frontier Myanmar reported on low voter interest in Karenni state. Human rights violations in Karenni state that affect farmers and oppress youth overshadow any thoughts of voting in November, further demonstrating how disenfranchisement continues to prevent those who would benefit most from political change from participating in democracy.
Despite low interest from Karenni state’s farmer population, the Karenni National Women Organization (KNWO) reports high participation in from the state’s youth. Youth are noted to be especially interested in the state’s ethnic parties, the Kayah State Democrative party and the Kayan National Party, and have been avid supporters as the ethnic parties and the National League for Democracy head to communities to campaign. The KNWO also reported that over 10,000 people crowded the visiting parties for support, despite risks of COVID-19 in the region.
With the elections in now just one month, state election commissions have much work to do if administrators want to truly promote democracy and freedom in Burma. The nation’s IDPs and refugees cannot continue to be left behind and denied their right to vote- moreover, the ethnic groups of Burma deserve better access to voting and should not be subject to faulty voter lists and inaccurate information. As we continue to follow developments of Burma’s national elections, individuals and the international community are responsible for spreading awareness about ongoing injustices and threats to democracy.
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