IMNA : Today, the All Mon Region Democratic Party (AMDP) filed a complaint with the Township Election Commission (TEC) about the missing votes from each stations.
According to an AMDP member, AMDP candidates reported about 500 eligible voters missing from each station to the TEC, but the TEC responded saying that it’s the eligible voters’ fault that they did not inform the TEC beforehand. These voters did not receive a voter’s registration number (which would allow them to vote) from the Election Commission before November 7th. It is now too late for these voters to caste their ballots.
One AMDP member explained, “that the missing votes may be used by the USDP, but no one knows where these votes would have been cast.”
Though some eligible voters chose not to vote today (such as a number of farmers and plantation owners), some residents who wished to participate in the elections were unable to.
“I want to vote so I went to the station and asked the Election Commission, but they didn’t allow me to vote, so I went home,” said one person who asked permission from the TEC.
But once the Election Commission saw the small numbers of voters coming to the polling booth stations, this person was called back, and was given the right to vote.
According to the voter, “At around 2 pm, the EC called us, so I took my father with me and went to the station to vote. This time I was allowed to,” she said.
Those residents who did not ask for permission from the EC, were unfortunately not called on to vote in the afternoon.
One Town Pyin villager (Ye Township) explained that, villagers living in the area were unable to vote, but those not currently living in the area were given voter’s registration numbers. “I am very angry about this, because I want to vote so much but I didn’t receive a number, though my son did. I am so mad,” she explained. It’s even been reported that some Burmese residents working in Thailand were given the right to vote.
Stories such as this did not only occur in Town Pyin village, but also throughout Mon State. Villagers have expressed worries that these missing ballots will go to the United Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the proxy party for the Burmese regime.
