Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing has called for hundreds of thousands of flood victims sheltering in relief camps and relatives’ homes to be sent home for the population census.
“The process of conducting the population and housing census is set to commence. Therefore, citizens in rescue camps should be returned to their respective homes as quickly as possible,” Min Aung Hlaing told junta officials at a disaster management meeting in Naypyitaw on Tuesday, according to junta media.
The population census is scheduled for Oct. 1-15 and will be used to compile voter lists for an election the regime plans to hold next year.
The poll plan is crucial for the regime to cement its rule after seizing power in a coup from a democratically elected government in 2021.
Min Aung Hlaing has instructed disaster victims, many of whom were left homeless by floods and landslides, to return home, despite his regime’s inability to extend rescue efforts even to flood-hit areas of Naypyitaw, the junta’s administrative capital.
The death toll rose to 268 by Wednesday, according to the regime, after nine regions and states were hit by severe flooding and landslides last week. However, the number of flood-related deaths is thought to be far higher, as many people remain missing.
According to junta media, 163,573 people are sheltering at relief camps in Naypyitaw, Karenni, Karen, Mon, and Shan states and Bago, Magwe, Mandalay and Ayeyarwady regions. Another 243,535 have moved to relatives’ homes. The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reports that over 630,000 people may be affected by flooding across the country.
Floodwaters have yet to recede in some areas, while in others, victims need help to clean up their homes.
Addressing rescue and relief efforts, Min Aung Hlaing told the meeting: “The aim should be to complete them in the shortest time, within a maximum six months, prioritizing areas with the most significant damage.”
The junta chief has repeatedly promised to hold a fresh poll since ousting the elected National League for Democracy government in 2021. However, he has delayed the poll plan again and again, citing instability in the country.
According to a UN report issued on Wednesday, the junta controls less than 40% of the country, where fighting has displaced more than 3 million people since the coup.
In June, Min Aung Hlaing announced that the poll would be held next year, with voter lists based on a population census scheduled in October.
The poll plan has been condemned by Western countries and domestic opponents of the junta as a fraudulent process aimed at cementing rule by a military that ousted a democratically elected government.
