Mon State will be getting 22 more voting booths for the upcoming November elections.
U Hein Lin Htet, Secretary of Mon State’s Sub-commission of the Election, said ” At the moment, there can be more booths. Within the law, some places will have between 300 to 3,000 [voters at each election station]. Due to COVID-19, township[s], will [ensure physical distancing to] separate the booths.”
U Hein Lin Htet added that the Sub-commission has allocated for [more] staff for the additional 22 voting booths, and materials needed at the booths.
The additional voting booths will be in the townships of Thaton, Thanbyuzayat and Paung.
“At some election stations, about 2,800 voters are expected. [According to the law], if there were expected to be over 3,000 voters, there must be another voting booth. In some quarters, when there are already 1 and 2 booths planned, these could expand to include a 3[rd] booth.” said U Hein Lin Htet.
In Mon State, for the 2020 Elections, there will be 17 parties and a total of 302 candidates standing for election. The state has allocated 970 voting booths for the upcoming election.
Mon State has over 1, 760,000 eligible voters. First time voters exceed 200,000 and there are over 4,000 persons with disabilities (PWDs) eligible to vote.
In the 2015 General Election, Mon State had 919 voting booths. There were 1,530,000 eligible voters, but according to some reports electoral turnout was just 51.3 %.
