IMNA : The All Mon Regions Democracy Party’s (AMDP) application to contest ethnic minority constituencies in Rangoon and Tenasserim Divison has been rejected, leaving thousands of Mon people in these areas without ethnic representation.
According to AMRDP representatives, their application for the areas formally known as “Rangoon (Yangon) Region” and “Tenasserim (Tanintharyi) Region” was rejected because the government considers a large portion of Mon people living in these two areas to not be ethnically Mon, due the fact that many Mon residents of these areas, especially those of mixed parentage, often list themselves as “Mon-Burmese” on their identification cards.
Nai Kon Chan, an AMRDP representative contesting for the Amyotha Hluttaw , or Upper House, constituency of “Mudon No-6” said “It is very sad for Mon people because even if they are Mon, they are [listed as] Burmese and Mon-Burmese for their nationality on their identification cards”.
According to a paper published by the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum, entitled “Countdown to the Myanmar Elections”, 1163 constituencies, or seats, in the Burmese parliament are being being contested in the upcoming elections, not including the 25% of all parliamentary seats allotted to the Burmese military. The constituencies of Burma’s parliament are divided between the Upper and Lower House national legislatures, and state or regional assemblies. Included in the state assemblies are constituencies specifically reserved to represent Burma’s ethnic minorities in these states or regions. According to the 2008 Burmese Constitution, ethnic groups who form 0.1 % of the the Union of Burma’s determined population, or 57 thousand people, are eligible for ethnic representation in an area already already obtained by that respective region.
August 30th marked the deadline for political parties to turn their lists of candidates, and the constituencies that these candidates would contest in, over to the Burmese Election Commission for review and approval; the Commission finished reviewing applications, according to its timetable, on September 10th.
The Election Commission’s refusal to the AMRDP means that large Mon populations in both Rangoon and Tenasserim Division will go without representation this November; AMRDP representatives estimated to IMNA that over 100 thousand individuals of Mon descent live in “Yangoon Region”.
Nai Kon Chan told IMNA that he feels that the real victims of this situation are the tens of thousands of Mon people living in troubled areas of Tenasserim Division; residents of several Mon villages in Tavoy District and the townships of Yebyu, Kawthaung, Kaleinaung and Bokpyin will be completely without ethnic representation in November’s elections.
The AMDP was established on April 7th of this year, after seceding from the group known as the 15-member “working committee”. The party is comprised of members from the Mon National Democratic Font (MNDF), retired New Mon State Party members, retired government servants and other assorted public figures. The Burmese Election Commission officially approved the AMRDP as a viable political party on May 5th, the the government-controlled newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.
