State Administration Council Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win addresses meeting on compiling voter lists for next election
NAY PYI TAW April 1
A meeting on compiling voter lists for the next election took place at the Office of the State Administration Council Chairman here this evening, with a speech delivered by SAC Vice Chairman Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win.
It was attended by Union Election Commission Chairman U Thein Soe, Union ministers Lt-Gen Soe Htut, U Khin Yi and Dr Myo Thein Kyaw, UEC member U Aung Lwin Oo, deputy ministers U Htay Hlaing, U Zaw Win and U Aung Tun Khaing and officials while chairman of Nay Pyi Taw Council, chief ministers of regions and states attended the meeting via video link.
First, the Vice-Senior General said this is a coordination meeting to discuss the matters related to the election intended to be held in 2023. The UEC and relevant ministries held a preliminary meeting on 14 and 25 March. The assistance to be rendered by the Tatmadaw has also been discussed with the officials concerned. At this meeting, the respective regions and states will be let to know measures they have to take.
The five-point roadmap of the SAC says that upon accomplishing the provisions of the state of emergency, free and fair multi-party democratic elections will be held in line with the 2008 Constitution, and further work will be undertaken to hand over State duties to the winning party in accordance with democratic standards.
Basically, voter lists must be precise and correct to ensure a free and fair election. The role of the UEC responsible for ensuring a successful election and the Ministry of Immigration and Population handling the list of nationwide population are crucial. With correct figures and data, the country will be in a position to make sure that voters cast correct votes. It is necessary to convince all eligible voters of holding their national scrutiny cards, voting in their residential places and holding household lists and immigration form-66/6.
To ensure the election intended to be held in 2023 is free and fair, correct figures and data are basically necessary.
So, the regions and states in cooperation with the election sub-commissions and the immigration and population departments need to pay doorto-door visits to check if every eligible voters has their national scrutiny cards and immigration form-66/6. For this on-ground checks, the record books on the scrutiny cards issued nationwide are being computerized at the Department of Immigration and Population. Meanwhile, the lists of immigration form-66/6 are also being computerized.
After computerization, combined teams will visit the townships of the respective regions and states to check if the lists are correct on ground before 2023.
A large number of voting irregularities were found as anyone who lived in constituencies were included in the voters’ lists without checking household lists against IPRD forms 66/6 and NRC cards on the ground during the 2020 general election.
As every citizen is allowed to have only one NRC card, it is necessary to scrutinize whether the cards are genuine or fake and illegal cards must be annulled.
Similarly, it is also necessary to scrutinize forms 66/6 and only then, will elections be clean, free and fair.
The Ministry of Immigration and Population has issued more than 51 million NRC cards across the country. Among those who have received the cards, some may have died, have gone abroad, have had the damaged cards, have lost the cards or have received the cards two or three times. More than 27 million cards have been recorded in computerized statistics by relevant ministries so far and more than 24 million cards have yet to be recorded in the computerized system.
It is necessary to record the remaining cards in the computerized system in a timely manner.
As only a single ministry is recording them in the computerized system in time for the 2023 election within the limits of its resources, the Nay Pyi Taw Council and chief ministers of states and regions should take measures to complete the plan in time within two months. On completion of recording NRC cards and IPRD forms 66/6 in the computerized system, it is necessary to check the data against the situation on the ground door to door at district, township and ward or village tract levels in the Nay Pyi Taw Council area, states and regions in cooperation with responsible bodies. As the field of the tasks is comprehensive, it will take time. Therefore, it is necessary to record the remaining statistics in the computerized system as soon as possible.
Therefore, concerted efforts must be made to record remaining statistics sent in advance to state and regional governments in the computerized system in cooperation with technicians and to store them in the server of the ministry in time. It is also necessary to cooperate with relevant organizations to make all relevant statistics and provisions known and observed to ensure that the general election to be held in 2023 is free and fair.
Then, participants reported to the Vice-Senior General on provision concerning elections, measures taken for compiling correct statistics in respective sectors, the models to link working groups to record statistics in the computerized system and the Vice-Senior General attended to the needs.
The meeting ended with concluding remarks by the Vice-Senior General.