No Security Guarantees Made for Rakhine Voting: Myanmar Government
The Arakan National Party campaigns ahead of the Nov. 8 general election in Sittwe. / Khine Rola / The Irrawaddy
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Sittwe, Rakhine State There are still no solid security guarantees to hold voting in parts of Rakhine State where polling was canceled in November, despite a push from Myanmar’s military, according to government spokesman U Zaw Htay.
The Union Election Commission (UEC) canceled voting in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Rathedaung, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya and Myebon townships.
Moreover, voting was partially canceled in the state capital, Sittwe, Kyaukpyu and Taungup townships, which left over 1.2 million out of 1.6 million voters in Rakhine disenfranchised.
AFP
Myanmar s President Win Myint has called for cooperation among all sides in the Rakhine state conflict so elections can be held in the troubled state where voting was cancelled last month because of fighting, but a rare truce has held for five weeks.
Myanmar election authorities cancelled voting in conflict areas of the western state, preventing about 1.2 million voters from casting ballots in the Nov. 8 general elections won by a landslide by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD).
Citing security reasons, authorities suspended voting in Rathedaung, Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U, Ponnagyun, Myebon, Kyauktaw, Minbya, and Pauktaw townships.
Those northern townships have been ravaged by a two-year-old military conflict between Myanmar forces and the rebel Arakan Army (AA) that has killed about 300 civilians, injured more than 600 others, and driven about 226,000 people into internal displacement camps.