UEC says turnout will be high despite pandemic

The Union Election Commission (UEC) believes the pandemic will not seriously harm voter turnout in the November 8th election. Speaking to the The Myanmar Times, UEC spokesperson U Myint Naing said that careful preparations will result in voter turnou

One month out, election takes heat from watchdogs

After a challenging few years on the world stage, a successful general election is critical for Myanmar’s geopolitical image. Yet as the election looms, the process has come under fire from human rights advocates, with Rakhine Muslims, also wid

Will COVID-19 delay the election?

Earlier this month, a group of 24 opposition political parties petitioned the Union Election Commission (UEC) to delay the election. The UEC refused. Critics of the request dismissed the effort as a ploy to buy more time to campaign and upset the sta

Some Muslim candidates disqualified in election

As the general election draws closer, a major issue has proved to be who can and cannot run. This week, the Rakhine State sub-commission of the Union Election Commission disqualified five Muslim candidates. “They were rejected mainly because th

Wa party to avoid Wa-held townships in election

The Wa National Party (WNP), the largest government-sanctioned ethnic Wa political party, will not contest the four townships that are out of Union government control. WNP spokesperson U Sam Saung Kha told the Myanmar Times that his party would field

Independent ethnic Wa authority will seek to allow voting

The Wa Self-Administered Division, an autonomous zone of the ethnic Wa people, will attempt to work with the Union Government to hold voting in the upcoming election. Last month, officials of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Union Election Com