Most political parties against PR system
Play
The representatives of six out of 8 political parties slammed the proposed adoption of the proportional representation (PR) electoral system for the Upper House.
Only the National Democratic Force (NDF) and the All Mon Region Democracy Party supported the new system. Among those in the other camp was National League for Democracy.
NDF member Soe Win said: “The disadvantages of the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system were seen in the 1990 election. The voting results showed a huge gap between the highest candidate and second highest candidate. We can overcome such gaps using the PR system. The PR system is suitable for our country.”
Aung Kyi Nyunt from the NLD said that Myanmar, new to democracy, is not ready for the PR system.
“The worst disadvantage is that the public cannot understand the voting system. This can cause mistakes in voting,” he said.
