Regime conducts voting training in Sittwe

By Admin 19 Sep 2025

DMG Newsroom

19 September 2025, Sittwe

Township-level election commission officials are reportedly providing voting training courses to residents of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, which is controlled by Myanmar's military regime, to help them vote in the upcoming elections.

Starting in the second week of September, Sittwe residents were invited to attend voting training sessions at schools on ward-based voting and balloting methods.

"Junta officials are giving people training on how to vote," said a local woman in Sittwe. "People have to attend voting training at neighbourhood schools. The neighbourhood administrator has made it mandatory for people to attend voting training. People have been instructed that everyone over the age of 18 must know how to vote, so people are going to attend."

The military regime reportedly began training education staff to conduct elections in July.

The junta-appointed Arakan State chief minister and his team briefed residents on the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine (MEVM) and offered a demonstration of the voting process at Khaing Thazin Hall in Sittwe on September 17.

Election awareness signage, meanwhile, has been posted at public places in Sittwe.

"Election awareness signs have been posted at Khaing Thazin Park, U Ottama Park, and in front of government offices in Sittwe. There are no pictures of the candidates. The training on how to vote is divided into groups for each ward," said another local man in Sittwe.

Arakan State Minister for Security and Border Affairs Colonel Kyaw Thura will be responsible for security in the state during the election period.

Despite the ongoing preparations, Arakanese politicians see little public interest in the junta-sponsored election.

"People are interested in whether the new government will expand its military presence with armed groups and engage in fighting, or whether there will be peace talks after the election," said a politician in Arakan State.

Since the battle for control of Arakan State began, many Sittwe residents have fled to mainland Myanmar and townships controlled by the Arakan Army (AA) for fear of fighting in the state capital. Currently, only a fraction of Sittwe's original population remains in Sittwe, many of them trapped there.

The military regime began forcibly evicting people from about 30 villages in Sittwe Township in June 2024, relocating and effectively locking them in Sittwe.

The military regime announced on September 7 that there are 7,039 people across 2,102 households at 54 IDP camps in Sittwe.

Officials from the district and township election commission offices also explained voting machines to locals and conducted trial voting in Kyaukphyu and Manaung townships, which are also under military regime control, the junta's Ministry of Information reported on September 17.

The military regime has announced that "phase 1" of the election will be held in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and Manaung, the three townships it still controls in Arakan State.