UEC urged to promptly announce Arakan townships not holding elections

By Min Tun 12 Oct 2020

Min Tun | DMG
12 October 2020, Sittwe 

Political parties and candidates for the upcoming general election are urging the Union Election Commission (UEC) to announce as soon as possible those townships in Arakan State that will not be holding the vote next month. 

Daw Khin Saw Wai, a Pyithu Hluttaw candidate contesting the Rathedaung Township seat, noted that the UEC has not yet indicated the townships where elections will be cancelled even as the country is less than a month away from going to the polls on November 8.  

“We have difficulties travelling due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We have spent quite a lot of money for vinyl and pamphlets [for campaigns],” she said, adding: “We want to know [which townships will not vote] at the earliest. Otherwise, it will be a waste of time and human resources if we only know at the last minute.” 

It is anticipated that some townships in Arakan State will not be able to hold elections next month due to security reasons, as conflict between the military and the Arakan Army is ongoing. 

The UEC has said it will announce those constituencies in October, but as the month’s midway point approaches, parliamentary hopefuls and voters alike are growing impatient. 

The secretary of the Arakan National Party, U Aung Mra Kyaw, said his party is concerned that no UEC announcement has yet been made. The ANP is contesting in all 17 of Arakan State’s townships and is fielding candidates for nearly every race, the exception being the state legislature’s Kyauktaw Township constituency No. 2. 

“We are worried because all the candidates for all 17 townships have been scheduled to contest in the election. If the elections in certain places are not happening, all the costs of our campaigns will be lost. That is why it is necessary to make the announcement for the townships not holding elections in a hurry,” he said. 

DMG attempts to contact responsible officials from the UEC were not successful. 

A state Hluttaw candidate for Minbya Township constituency No. 1, U Maung Soe Win of the Arakan Front Party, voiced a similar complaint. 

“[Not knowing] whether we will have elections in our place or not makes it difficult for us to make decisions,” he said. “We are hearing there will be no elections in northern Arakan State. If that is true, Minbya Township is most likely not going to hold elections. Then the costs will be lost. However, as we don’t know for sure, there are weaknesses in expanding our campaigns.” 

Fighting has flared in several Arakan State townships and Chin State’s Paletwa Township over the past two years, leading to widespread expectations that multiple constituencies, likely concentrated in Arakan State’s north, will not get a chance to vote on November 8.