Arakanese woman in Yangon fined for voter fraud in 2020 general election

By DMG 21 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
21 February 2022, Yangon

An Arakanese woman living in Yangon’s Shwepyithar Township was fined K100,000 by the township court on Monday for allegedly casting more than one ballot in Myanmar’s 2020 general election.

The convicted was identified as Ma Win May, a 28-year-old Arakanese woman from Pyaing Taing village in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township. She was charged under Section 171(f) of the Penal Code and fined, Ma Win May told DMG.

“I was fined K100,000 by the Shwepyithar Township Court. I was charged Section 171(f) of the Penal Code and I don’t know who filed against me. There was another person with me. You cannot vote twice and I don’t want to comment on this matter further,” she said.

Ma Win May is a grocer in Shwepyithar Township. Ma Nan Khaing Soe from Pauktaw Township, who lives in the same neighbourhood as Ma Win May, was charged with casting ballots more than once and was fined K100,000 by the Shwepyithar Township Court on February 9, according to Ko Saw Min Oo, information officer for the Arakan Social Association (Yangon).

“Ma Win May was fined K100,000 today. She was sued for voting fraud along with Ma Nan Khaing Soe, who was also fined K100,000 on February 9,” he told DMG.

Daw Ma Sein, a 50-year-old woman living in Ann Township’s Lay Yin Kwin ward, was also fined K100,000 by the township court on February 9 for balloting twice in the 2020 general election.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory in Myanmar’s 2020 general election, but the military overthrew the civilian government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, citing alleged vote-rigging. The international community has largely rejected those claims, as has much of the Myanmar public.

“Action is being taken against 2,169 individuals who cast two or more ballots using the same citizenship card or same name in the last election,” said U Khin Maung Oo, a member of the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC), at a press conference on January 14.