The National League for Democracy fears election day may not go smoothly, and yesterday raised concerns over vote rigging as well as campaign-related violence in Kachin State.
At a meeting called yesterday by the Union Election Commission to discuss vote cancellations in Shan State, the NLD representative flagged ongoing issues with the voter lists.
Senior NLD official U Win Htein said he is concerned that election manipulation and invisible voting may be on the horizon as the error-ridden electoral rolls are turned into voter ID cards from November 1 to 7.
“The voter lists are incredibly inflated. So we are worried about the credibility of the votes,” he said.
Particularly in constituencies contested by ex-generals and ruling party heavyweights, the voter lists are packed with names that don’t belong, the NLD said in a statement released last week.
A UEC official responded that the opposition party was over-worried about the issue.
“They usually complain, rather than cooperating. What they are worrying now will not happen,” U Thein Oo, a UEC director told The Myanmar Times.
U Win Htein also said the NLD members have been attacked by a rival political group in Kachin State, and the assaults have taken a toll on the campaigning.
Several attacks were believed to have been started by supporters of warlord-turned-lawmaker U Zakhung Ting Ying, head of the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), a border guard force under the Tatmadaw.
During a campaign event, some the suspected supporters, including U Zakhung Ting Ying’s son, who is also a candidate in the election, grabbed cell phones and cameras belonging to NLD members.
“We also heard that there have been physical assaults on party members by his supporters,” U Win Htein said.
The party filed a complaint to local police, and brought up the attacks with both the election sub-commission officials and the UEC in Nay Pyi Taw.
Daw Kyu Kyu Than, an officer leading the NLD’s Kachin State campaign committee, told The Myanmar Times that canvassing and rallies were being arranged cautiously.
“They are [candidates] but they are breaking the election laws,” she said of the attackers. “Action must be taken if free and fair elections are to be held in this area.”
She added that a local resident who was helping with the NLD’s campaign events was arrested and then later released. The person has since fled the area.
