• Burmese
Saturday, June 14, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
25 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Ethnic Parties in Myanmar Worried Proposed Voter Registration Changes Will Hurt Their Election Chances

Lawi Weng by Lawi Weng
November 18, 2019
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Members of the United Nationalities Alliance from ethnic political parties meet in Yangon on Sept. 28, 2019. / UNA / Facebook

Members of the United Nationalities Alliance from ethnic political parties meet in Yangon on Sept. 28, 2019. / UNA / Facebook

7.1k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Ethnic political parties in Myanmar have objected to a proposal by the Union Election Commission (UEC) to lower to 90 days the length of time migrant workers must reside in a location in order to be allowed to vote there. The current law stipulates a 180-day minimum.

The UEC on Oct. 3 submitted to Parliament a draft amendment to a bylaw that would give migrant workers in ethnic states the right to vote in a location if they have been working there for 90 days, removing the need for them to return to their hometowns to vote.

Many people in Myanmar leave their hometowns and move to other parts of the country in search of work—particularly ethnic majority Burmese looking for work in ethnic minority regions. The ethnic political parties worry they will lose votes in their regions if the UEC lets migrant workers vote in their new place of residence, according to local sources.

RelatedPosts

Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

June 14, 2025
78
Massacres Expose Quake Aid Charade; War Crimes Pact With Russia; and More

Massacres Expose Quake Aid Charade; War Crimes Pact With Russia; and More

May 31, 2025
1.4k
Yadaya: How Myanmar’s Junta Boss Hopes to Hex His Way to Presidency

Yadaya: How Myanmar’s Junta Boss Hopes to Hex His Way to Presidency

May 29, 2025
1.8k

Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, vice chairman of the Kachin State People’s Party (KSPP), told The Irrawaddy on Monday that he totally disagreed with the plan.

“We respect [workers’] rights. But they should go back to their hometowns to vote,” he said.

Letting Burmese migrants vote in the ethnic areas where they work would have many negative consequences, he added.

Local ethnic Kachin people will not be happy if the ruling National League for Democracy or the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party won elections due to the migrant vote, he said. Such a situation would upset local people, he said, citing the problems that occurred in Tanai and Hpakant townships in Kachin State during the election in 2015 and a byelection in 2018.

Many Burmese migrants have come to work in jade and amber mines in the two townships. They voted for the NLD or the USDP, at the expense of local ethnic parties, which lost in those elections, he said.

Over the objections of the KSPP, Myanmar officials issued household registration documents to those migrant workers in Tanai and Hpaka townships, allowing them to vote in Kachin State.

“Local people understood that their ethnic party would win in their region without the advance votes for the Burmese political parties. Therefore, local people made problems, as they were not happy. If migrants vote in our region, locals will not be satisfied, and there will be more problems,” said Gumgrawng Awng Hkam.

It is very clear that the move by the UEC is aimed at affecting the result of the election next year, he said.

Sai Kyaw Nyunt, a leader of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the UEC’s move harmed local people’s ability to choose their representatives. Even the right to work for local ethnic political parties was affected [by the proposal from the UEC], he said, adding that the proposal served the interests of the main Burman political parties.

He urged the UEC to provide advance voting for migrant workers. If the UEC could prepare advance voting for migrants who work overseas, why couldn’t they do so for internal migrants, he asked.

“We could say that the UEC’s statement shows a lack of consideration,” Sai Kyaw Nyunt said.

He said such actions are seen in one-party states. But in Myanmar ethnic people are supposed to have equal rights, so the country can transition to a federal system. “We can’t build the country if they are only interested in power. The UEC should act neutrally, and should not act like this,” he said.

“If the UEC listens only to the voice of the party who has power, we could say the UEC is not neutral,” he said.

Nai Lyi Tama, joint secretary of the Mon Unity Party, told The Irrawaddy the party had voiced its opposition to letting migrants vote in its region since it held a meeting with the UEC in 2015. He said the UEC did not listen to the party.

“Burmese migrants came to stay in Mon region temporarily. Even if they have the right to vote wherever they are, they go back to their hometowns after voting. So, they do not understand what they are voting for,” he said.

He said the UEC’s proposal could alter the outcome of the election, helping the Burman parties to secure majorities.

If the voting result changed because of the migrant vote, the election winners cannot be seen as truly representing the people. The candidates who win will not even have a strong influence in their own constituencies, he said.

“It will be difficult to say he or she was elected by local people,” he said.

Local people have waited for a long time to elect the people they like. But the UEC’s proposal will destroy this hope, he said.

The migrant workers should go back to their hometowns and vote there, he said.

After the NLD had been in power for three months, the government issued housing registrations to migrant workers in ethnic states. This allowed them to become residents of Mon State, giving them the right to vote, according to Nai Lyi Tama.

“We have to question whether such an action by the NLD government amounts to a policy of population transfer. We disagree with the proposal and we are preparing to send a letter to the UEC,” said Nai Lyi Tama.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: BamarBurmanDemocracyElectionEthnic rightsethnic statesfederal systemMigrant WorkersNLDpopulation transferUnion Election CommissionUSDPvoters’ rights
Lawi Weng

Lawi Weng

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Three Rebel Army Chiefs Predict Rapid Fall of Myanmar Junta
Burma

Three Rebel Army Chiefs Predict Rapid Fall of Myanmar Junta

by The Irrawaddy
August 18, 2023
26.9k

Powerful armed groups in Karen, Kachin and Kayah states say the regime is ready to topple.

Read moreDetails
New Year Message From Myanmar: Dictator Shows he is Forever Falling Short
Analysis

New Year Message From Myanmar: Dictator Shows he is Forever Falling Short

by The Irrawaddy
January 3, 2024
24.9k

Min Aung Hlaing kept this year’s speech brief – just long enough to blame everyone for the disaster he created...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts
Analysis

Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 20, 2024
16.7k

Three major operations to retake territory from ethnic armies and their allies are being hampered by troop shortages, experts say.

Read moreDetails
Overseas Employment Suspended as Myanmar Junta Activates Military Conscription
Burma

Overseas Employment Suspended as Myanmar Junta Activates Military Conscription

by The Irrawaddy
February 15, 2024
14.7k

Labor Ministry is apparently seeking to slam exit door on 14 million young people eligible for compulsory military service.

Read moreDetails
Cash-Starved Junta Milks Myanmar Migrant Workers With New Remittance Rule
Burma

Cash-Starved Junta Milks Myanmar Migrant Workers With New Remittance Rule

by The Irrawaddy
September 12, 2023
11.3k

Those who refuse to remit at least 25% of their earnings at regime exchange rate will be barred from working...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home
Burma

Myanmar IDPs Stranded by Junta Troops in Northern Shan State Face a Long Walk Home

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 30, 2023
9.9k

After fleeing Laukkai Town to save their lives, thousands of IDPs are now sleeping on roads outside Lashio as junta...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Soe Tun Shein appears at Yamethin Township Court in November. / De Hlaing Win / The Irrawaddy

Myanmar Govt Targets Mines Over Undelivered Gold Payments

A man carries his son outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University campus as they wait for an ambulance during protests in Hong Kong, China on Nov. 19, 2019. / Reuters

Hong Kong Leader Urges Peaceful Resolution of Campus Standoff

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

Will Myanmar’s Military Replace Its Embattled Leader?

1 week ago
2.5k
How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

How the Myanmar Military’s Propaganda Efforts Have Evolved Over the Decades

3 days ago
981

Most Read

  • Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

    Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Sagaing Region Braced for Myanmar Junta Airstrikes After Jet Crash

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Is TNLA, Under Chinese Pressure, Conceding Northern Shan Gateway to the Regime?

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Advances into Karenni State

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.