Regime-appointed UEC to prosecute alleged voter fraud

By DMG 27 Oct 2021

DMG Newsroom
27 October 2021, Sittwe 

The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has ordered the prosecution of voters who allegedly cast ballots more than once in Myanmar’s general election on November 8, 2020.  

The UEC announced on October 22 that it had notified all region and state election subcommissions to take action against those individuals who cast two or more ballots using the same citizenship card, in accordance with Section 59 of the relevant parliamentary election law. 

The commission’s statement said the UEC was scrutinising voter lists in accordance with Section 53 of the election law, and that the undertaking was needed to prevent future voter fraud. 

U Thurein Htut, secretary of the Arakan State Election Commission, said he did not know the details of the directive to take action against voters casting more than one ballot. 

The UEC said that any individual found guilty of casting more than one ballot could be sentenced to one year in prison or a fine under section 171(d) and (f) of the Penal Code. 

The junta-appointed UEC announced on July 26 that the results of the 2020 general election were “annulled,” claiming the poll was marred by fraud and “was not in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Union Election Commission Law and respective Hluttaw Election Law.” 

Several local and international election observers have disputed that there were any widespread election problems, however, concluding instead that the vote was largely free and fair. The National League for Democracy won the vast majority of parliamentary seats in the allegedly fraudulent November poll, much as it did in the 2015 general election.