The European Union has sent four electoral experts to monitor next month’s elections instead of a full observer mission because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EU attributed the change to “the safety and logistic constraints caused by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The decision, in line with other observer groups, reflects the difficulties for Myanmar in organising a credible and well monitored election on November 8, when over 37 million people are eligible to vote for representatives to both houses of parliament and sub-national assemblies who will sit alongside military-appointed lawmakers.
The electoral process has been undermined by the disenfranchisement of some minority groups, unequal access to state media for parties and the blocking of internet services in some conflict areas.
Last month, the government declared journalism a non-essential business, subjecting non-state journalists to stay-at-home orders. Foreign reporters are effectively blocked from entering the country.
The elections are widely seen as a popularity test for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party which formed a civilian government following a landslide victory in the 2015 polls. That election marked Myanmar’s return to quasi-democracy after decades of military rule. She is, however, barred from the presidency by the military-drafted constitution and has to share power with the Tatmadaw.
The four EU experts arrived in Myanmar on October 4. They are tasked with monitoring and assessing all stages of the electoral process, the electoral administration, the legal framework, the political context, as well as the media and social media environment.
The experts will remain until the end of the electoral process, including part of the complaint and appeal phase, the EU said on October 11. They are to provide a comprehensive analytical report and make recommendations for improvements.
In 2015, the EU sent a mission of more than 100 experts and monitors to observe the polls across the country.
UK embassy staff already in Myanmar are understood to be taking part in observing the elections. The Carter Center, an independent US monitoring group, is recruiting Myanmar nationals to observe the elections because of lockdown restrictions. The Bangkok-based Asian Network for Free Elections has yet to announce its deployment plan.
Opposition politicians have called for the polls to be postponed but the Union Election Commission (UEC) has said it intends to stick to the November 8 polling day, a position backed by the NLD. Sources familiar with the UEC’s thinking suggest that the constitutional and political risks created by a delay, for which the constitution does not have a clear mechanism, outweigh pandemic concerns.
The UEC plans to increase the number of polling stations to minimise crowds and is expected soon to announce constituencies where voting will not take place..
Domestic travel restrictions are now in place. Those who have stayed in their current temporary residences for at least 90 days and intend to vote there instead of in their home constituencies had until October 10 to register.
Voting abroad in embassies has already begun.
With more than 26,000 COVID-19 infections, Myanmar recently overtook Malaysia as the fourth-worst hit country in Southeast Asia.
The UEC, whose top officials are appointed by the NLD, has made little progress in implementing the EU Election Observation Mission 2015 recommendations.
According to the final report by the EU election follow-up mission released last year, only two out of the 50 recommendations are fully implemented while there is zero progress on 33, including key reforms on campaign finance.
