Election-related census collection in Arakan State over 99% complete: junta media

10 Feb 2023

DMG Newsroom
10 February 2023, Sittwe

A regime population census in townships across Arakan State to facilitate the compiling of voter lists is currently 99.25 percent completed, the junta-controlled Myanma Alin daily reported on February 8.

The nationwide population census was collected on the ground from January 9 to 31, and data were reportedly gathered from 86.7 percent of households nationwide.

The state-owned Myanmar Alinn newspaper reported that the population census was conducted in Arakan State for those who did not have household certificates, with household lists for more than 1.4 million people being checked to see if they match.

The military regime has said the purpose of conducting a population census is to prepare a correct voter list in order to hold a free and fair general election, expected later this year.

U Pe Than, a veteran Arakanese politician, has been a consistent critic of the junta-sponsored election, lambasting it as unfair and “a sham.”

“Everyone knows that even though the regime is currently conducting a population census, the election will not be fair. No matter how free the vote is, there are reviews both internationally and domestically that the election is a one-sided, pretend election. I see the regime’s population census as a way of organising the people to participate in the pretend election under the guise of freedom,” he added.

Despite the military council’s population census, many Arakanese people say they have no interest in the election.

“The military regime will attempt to hold the election. In terms of Arakan State, the Arakanese people are less interested in the election. As the people of Arakan have little interest in holding elections, nothing will happen,” said U Maung Tha Sein, a resident of Sittwe.

On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power from the democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government in a coup, citing voter fraud in a 2020 general election that the NLD won in a landslide. The military regime is currently trying to hold elections in August 2023, using a system of proportional representation in contrast to the 2020 general election’s first-past-the-post format.

The civil servants working for the military regime to collect census data ahead of the elections have been attacked and several police and ward and village administrators have been killed in several Myanmar states and regions.

The regime’s population census collection in Arakan State was made easier by the decision of the military and Arakan Army (AA) to observe an unofficial ceasefire in late November after months of renewed hostilities.