Government
Elections
China calls for border stability in Myanmar ahead of elections
China’s defense minister has urged Myanmar to maintain stability on their common border as it prepares for what Beijing hopes will be successful elections in November, the defense ministry said on 22 September. Myanmar holds an historic election in November, when the military-backed ruling party will compete with the ...
Rebels warn political parties to halt election campaigns amid clashes in Myanmar’s Shan State
Armed ethnic rebels in eastern Myanmar’s Shan state have warned political parties to suspend campaigning for national elections slated for November amid ongoing clashes with the country’s military in the region, citing safety concerns.In a statement issued on 16 September, the Restoration Council of Shan ...
More than 100 scrubbed from final candidate list
Over 100 election hopefuls – mostly minority candidates – were knocked out of the running in the Union Election Commission’s final list, with citizenship status by far the most common stumbling block. The final list was short 124 rejected candidates, according to the commission’s announcement on ...
Housewives band together to fight for rights
Furious: That’s how Mi Than Shin said she felt when the Union Election Commission (UEC) told her and her colleagues they could not register a political organisation under the name Women’s Party. On April 27, the commission sent a letter to the founding members, who are ...
Campaign period starts, but only for some parties
As with most deadlines and dates this election season, the start of the official candidate campaign period is rolling by only partially heeded. Political parties had to miss scheduled campaign kick-off events – and the unveiling of campaign songs and slogans – because the candidate ...
Muslim candidates fear no shot at the polls
With the finalised candidate list expected to be released on 7 September, barred Muslim election hopefuls fear not a single one of them will be left to contend the looming polls, leaving no one to represent what many estimate is Myanmar’s largest religious minority. The Union ...
Election in doubt in flood-hit Chin State
The upcoming election may be up to three months late in landslide-ravaged Chin State. While the official nationwide poll is just 66 days away, the Union Election Commission said it is mulling a request to delay voting in Chin State due to lingering effect of the floods. Keep ...
Election commission rejects Muslim candidates en masse
Nineteen election candidates in northern Rakhine State have been barred from running by the district sub-election commission, which called into question their residency status and the citizenship of their parents. Applications were submitted by 378 potential candidates representing a range of political parties across five districts ...
Arakanese ire raised over citizenship verification drive
The Arakan State government’s ongoing citizenship verification process has caused disquiet among local Arakanese, some of whom contend that immigration officials are overly accommodating of unwarranted claims. The citizenship verification process, a largely ill-defined scheme that involves non-nationals providing proof of Burma-born ancestry, has led to ...
NLD commits to contesting November election
The Burmese opposition party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi announced 11 July it will contest the general election on Nov. 8, an effort that is expected to strongly challenge the ruling military-backed party. “We will contest the election to continue implementing the democratic transition ...
