Govt spokesman defends independence of Union Election Commission

By Min Tun 11 Oct 2020

Min Tun | DMG
11 October 2020, Sittwe 

Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC) is an independent organisation that has not been controlled by the government, according to U Zaw Htay, director-general of the State Counsellor’s Office, who pushed back against suggestions to the contrary at a press conference over the weekend. 

The government provides administrative assistance to facilitate the commission’s work, U Zaw Htay told reporters during the online press briefing on October 10.  

“The UEC is an independent commission. The government does not order the UEC to do anything, nor can it command it. The government is administratively responsible for facilitating the commission’s tasks in order to hold the general election successfully,” he added. 

U Zaw Htay was responding to a reporter’s question about complaints from some quarters alleging a lack of fairness in the upcoming general election, with the UEC perceived as subordinate to the government and the ruling party.  

Due to a staffing shortage at the UEC — given the extra measures required to hold this year’s election amid the COVID-19 pandemic — relevant administrative authorities are assisting the UEC, U Zaw Htay added. 

“It is very difficult to conduct this election with the employees from the UEC in accordance with the COVID-19 preventive and control rules,” he explained. “The concerned government agencies will help the UEC hold the general election successfully in the health and administrative sectors. The government cannot control the UEC because it is an independent organisation.” 

Region- and state-level administrative agencies are helping the UEC to set up new polling locations as some schools where polling stations were hosted previously have been repurposed into COVID-19 quarantine centres, he said. 

Health concerns have been raised among the public amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections with the November 8 election less than one month away. 

As of 8 p.m. on October 11, there were 27,974 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Myanmar, with 9,742 recovered patients discharged from hospitals and 646 dead, according to the Ministry of Health and Sports.