Thu Rein : Villagers residing on the west bank of the Zami River in Kyainnseikyi Township, Karen State, have been pre-selected as voters for the Burmese government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Authorities from Three Pagodas Pass (TPP) Sub-Township, Karen State reported that despite the fact that no voter polls will be opened in the area, residents of this region will automatically have their votes counted towards electing the Ta dein village USDP, the Burmese’s government’s proxy party, on the date of the nation’s elections, to be held on November 7th of this year.
Officials from the TPP area who are close to the Burmese government’s Information Department reported that Baleh Done Phai village, Hlockhanee village, Depado village, Maketa, Ta dein and Anan kwin village on the west bank of the Zami River, in the Three Pagodas Pass area, won’t officially participate in the coming election in the name of local security. However, voters in this area will have their votes cast towards the USDP.
“[There are] lists of the people who can vote for election and also we have got them. That’s why they [villagers in this area] were recognized to vote [as voters] on the USDP list” said the officer. The Zami River area was included in the polls for the May 2008 Constitutional referendum, thus giving authorities a list of previous voter and family lists to allocate to the USDP for the upcoming elections of 2010.
According to field reporters, individuals with national identity cards, but not accounted for on family lists, will reportedly be excluded from voting no matter their location. Such restrictions will technically violate Burmese law, which states that all citizens over the age of 18 years of age are technically allowed to vote in national elections.
Government authorities announced last week that the Kyainnseikyi Township villages of Ywar Thit, Jone Kawe, Guepalu, and Chaung zone will be allocated to one village group, and the residents of these villages must travel to Chaung zone village to cast their votes in election. Guu bow village, Japanese Well village, and Ywar Thit village were not included on the list, signaling that these villages have been officially excluded from voting at election polls this November.
“The main reason is security. The election won’t be held in that area due to be located by the KNU [Karen National Union] and their area [territory],” said the officer.
Burmese government authorities announced in official announcement 101 on Sept 16th that 46 village groups in Kyainnseikyi Township, including Anan Kwin village group and Kyun Chaung village group, will be excluded from the poll station on November 7th.
Announcement 101 stated that a total of 155 village groups in Karen State, including 11 from Hpa-an township, 17 from Hlaing bwe township, 27 from Hpa pun township, 36 from Thandang township, 4 from Myawaddy township, 14 from Kawkareik township, and 46 from Kyainnseikyi township are to be excluded from the elections.
The National Unity Party (NUP), the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the Palon- Sagaw Democratic Party, and the Democracy and Development Party – Karen State will contest in Kyainnseikyi Township on election day.
14 candidates, including one woman candidate, will contest in Kyainnseikyi Township; 2 for the Amyotha Hlutttawat (or Upper National Legislature) and 12 for State Legislature in Kyainnseikyi Township.
A political analyst in the TPP area theorized to IMNA that the candidates list are just for show because their biographies and personal information has not been made public; photos of the candidates have also been withheld. This analyst felt that he withholding of such information is a deliberate ploy by the Burmese government to channel votes towards the USDP; he claimed that should the public become familiar with the platforms of all candidates, they will be more likely to choose candidates from other parties than the USDP, in an effort to earn greater representation for the area’s ethnic minorities. Currently no parties are opening campaigning in the Kyainnseikyi/ TTP area, but discrete campaigning by USDP members among family and friends has been widely reported.
