Doubts on ministry's collection of staff voter list numbers
Yangon - An order from the Ministry of Information requiring ministry staff and their families to submit their voter list numbers and the locations of their polling booths has gone viral on Facebook. The ministry's permanent secretary Tint Swe explained t
In the order, dated October 20, the deputy permanent secretary directed staff members and their families from departments and factories under the Printing and Publishing Enterprise of the Ministry of Information to make lists of their voter list numbers and locations of their polling stations and send them to the ministry by October 26.
"This contradicts what we intend. The reason is for our staff not to lose their voting rights and to ensure their convenience in casting votes," said Tint Swe.
"First, we want to them to go and check whether they are on the voter lists. Then we want them to know their voter list numbers in order to be able to vote in a quick manner. We also want them to know the rules and regulations of polling booths. For example, what is an invalid vote? For those who have applied [to vote outside their constituencies] with Form 3(A), they have been instructed to check whether they are really on a list. If they are on the list, they have to coordinate with the concerned election sub-commissions."
Tint Swe said there are about 7,500 civil servants under the Ministry of Information.
