Featured Image: Voter casts an advance ballot in Hopone village in Taunggyi, Shan State, Myanmar Times
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 fourth blog in the election series, following our first blog on Chin and Rakhine state, the second blog on Kachin and Karen state, and the third blog on Mon and Karenni state.
Issues with disenfranchisement began as early as July for Shan State, whose election officials were unable to collect voter lists in Panghsang, Pangwaing, Mine Maw, and Narhpan townships within the Wa Autonomous Self-Administered Division. The Union Election Commission planned to have voter information corrections made by August 7, however, after lists were unable to be collected, the probability of voting not taking place in the four townships is high. The townships are under the control of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), who has not signed the government’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, leaving the group out of any national peace processes and stifling implementation of initiatives in UWSA-controlled areas- including voter list collection. The Wa townships did not vote in Burma’s 2010 and 2015 election and risks being left out a third time in 2020, disenfranchising over 200,000 people residing in the UWSA-controlled area.
The Shan-ni (Red Shan) ethnic people in Pinlebu township are also facing possible disenfranchisement- out of the 4,000+ Shan-ni people, 3,000 are eligible voters, however, according to the Township Election Sub-Commission, a mere 822 Shan-ni are eligible to vote for Shan Ethnic Affairs Minister. BNI reported that the large discrepancy in ineligible voters stems from the Shan-nis’ National Registration Cards (NRCs) that describe them as ethnic Bamar, the Burmese ethnic majority. Although the Sub-Commission is working to ensure that voters can cast their ballots for Shan Ethnic Affairs Minister, Nan Hmway Hmway Khin, the current Shan Ethnic Affairs Minister, wrote in a Facebook post that the chances of voting for the Ethnic Affairs Minister in 2020, when compared to voting in 2015, are “pretty low.” In Burma’s 2015 election, around 3,000 Shan-ni people voted for the Ethnic Affairs Minister; however, as voter lists are now reliant on NRC information, the number of voters has significantly decreased.
The situation in Pinlebu township as well as the UWSA-controlled areas could bring about the mass disenfranchisement of ethnic people in Shan State. The state’s internally displaced peoples, however, perhaps have even greater issues posed against them- as an unhoused, vulnerable population with likely no access to voter lists, IDPs are almost automatically ineligible to vote by nature of their displaced status. Individuals residing in five IDP camps and one refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border will lose their right to vote in November after being unable to provide documents to prove their citizenship. An officer at Koung Jor refugee camp noted that many Shan people in the IDP camps do not have NRC cards and are not very likely to be able to obtain one as the majority of Shan people do not speak the Bamar language.
Shan IDP camps, namely Kong Moong Murng, Loi Sarm Sip, Loi Lam, Loi Tai Laeng, and Loi Kaw Wan, in Burma hold an estimated total of 6,200 people, all of whom will lose their voting rights. The Shan State Refugee Committee (SSRC), while unable to aid Shan refugees in Thailand in voting, is working to ensure that over 1,000 Burmese migrant workers can cast their votes by sending a list of eligible voters to the Burmese embassy. The SSRC has urged Shan state’s ethnic parties to make arrangements for IDP voters in the future, as the IDPs and refugees on the Thai-Burma border were unable to vote in both the 2010 and 2015 elections- and now the 2020 election.
Conflict in Shan state is also threatening November’s elections- the Shan State Army (SSA) expressed concern that the Burma Army troops have yet to withdraw and may strike SSA troops as the election approaches. Villagers echoed this same concern as the Burma Army troops maintain residence within their villages, which incites fear in order to discourage civilians from voting. While conflict in Shan state is not uncommon, the added pressures of COVID-19 are increasing civilian fear and decreasing their inclination to vote. A villager from Monpaw stated that many are “concerned about the resumption of fighting in our area. At the same time, we’re worried about COVID-19.” Even throughout an election year and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Burma Army continues to violate basic human rights and intentionally exacerbates violence and insecurity in Shan state.
Ethnic Pa-O are also struggling to maintain the right to vote- many Pa-O villagers are subject to forced displacement due to conflict incited by the Burma Army and are left unhoused with no IDP camps to seek shelter in. This leaves hundreds of ethnic Pa-O with likely little access to polling stations and public voter lists. At USCB’s fourth Forgotten Voices of Burma event, speaker Khun Oo stated that many IDPs and villagers “don’t understand what the election is and how to vote. It is very difficult for normal people who live in rural areas.” He also noted that for IDPs, there is a general sense of distrust in the Burmese government, as many IDPs “see the government and the military together and aren’t happy with the election as they see it as something not for the people but for the government who is in control.” Inaccessibility, lack of interest in voting, and lack of knowledge of how to vote make it highly unlikely that many ethnic Pa-O will cast their votes in November. Khun Oo also relayed a general sentiment of forgetfulness of the Pa-O, leaving many Pa-O even less likely to gain enfranchisement without recognition of their people in the first place.
Ethnic Ta’ang face similar issues- with human rights violations increasing on the daily, Ta’ang who are forcibly displaced are unable to return to villages and will experience problems reaching polling stations and voter lists. Lway Hlar Reang, another panelist from the Forgotten Voices event, stated that many IDP camps are near conflict-affected regions and that “plans for going back to their village conflicts with mine [landmine] safety… Violence against women and children is also a challenge for them.” These factors are not likely to incentivize many Ta’ang, especially displaced Ta’ang, to travel far from their place of residence to vote. When speaking on voter eligibility in Shan state, Ying Lao, also from USCB’s fourth event, noted that there are over 700,000 eligible voters in Shan state who do not have IDs to vote. “For regular people, they don’t have IDs, so for refugees…this is extremely difficult. When they ran away, many of them did not get their ID with them or have an ID to begin with.” This situation is more than likely the case for many Ta’ang IDPs and refugees who will be disenfranchised in November due to lack of an ID and their status as a displaced person.
Although we cannot make mention of every ethnic group in Shan state, the USCB takes note that these ethnic groups are also facing disenfranchisement and issues with the upcoming election. Denial of the right to vote is part of the Burma Army and Burmese government’s way of blocking ethnic groups from win this election.
Burma is now less than a month away from its 2020 national election and thousands remain without the right to vote. As the on-the-ground situation develops, the Burma Army and Burmese government, both of which create conditions to disenfranchise IDPs and refugees while inciting conflict in local villages, need to be held accountable for their actions. To truly foster human rights and democracy in Burma, recognition of the nation’s issues and justice for those most affected are necessary to break the cycle of impunity.
uscampaignforburma.wordpress.com 