Myanmar expatriates among 32 million eligible voters

“I’ve found over 32 million names on the list,” UEC Chairman Tin Aye said at a press conference in Yangon.

“There are [Myanmar] expatriates among the 32 million names. Wherever they are, they will be in the voter list. Therefore, they can vote in the upcoming election. For those who go abroad with the permission of the government, they can submit Form No 15, and we will send ballots to them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assist in this,” he said. 

In Nay Pyi Taw, there are 614,126 eligible voters in the preliminary voter list, of whom 13,017 (6.2 per cent) submitted Form No 3 to have their names included after they were initially found to be missing; 3,585 (1.72 per cent) submitted Form No 4 to remove names of ineligible voters; and 12,210 (5.8 per cent) submitted Form No 4(c) to correct personal information.  

In Magway Region, 1.3 million out of 2.8 million eligible voters checked the list. Over 140,000 applications were submitted to correct information on the list in the region.  

The UEC has declared November 8 to be Election Day. Corrections to the preliminary voter list can be submitted until the end of July. The final voter list will be announced at the end of August.

 “In late August, we expect to announce the voter list nationwide. It will be on public display for fourteen days. Then, we will send the final list to the ballot station,” Tin Aye said. 

Some political parties, led by the National League for Democracy, have complained about errors on the voter lists. On July 21, at the meeting between the UEC and political parties, the commission was asked to extend the window to submit election candidates. The deadline is now set at 20 days ahead of the November 8 election date. 

Tin Aye refused the request, saying that the window was narrow in 2010, when the parties were told to submit candidates 16 days before the election date. 

Tin Aye said: “The major problem is choosing candidates. Every party has a debate over this. That’s why they want to extend the date. They put the blame on us saying there are errors in the voter lists. But this parliament expires on January 30, 2016, and the Constitution says the election must be held within 90 days. Therefore, I can’t change the date for the election."

“I have declared the election date early. Political parties are struggling to name their candidates but I have my own problems because I have to print voting documents. I have to make voting lists for other areas so people can vote in the election. I have to collect voter lists and send voting materials to the polling stations. If it was possible, I would change the election date, but it isn’t. I have already given sufficient time,” continued Tin Aye.