Khine Nwe Oo — A Tanintharyi Region Dawei Township Election Commission official is trying to address problems caused by leaky ink on ballots during the advance voting procedure. Some voting hasn’t been done properly causing the ink on ballots to smudge or fade. If it’s not addressed, these votes could be rendered invalid.
To prevent the possibility of delays on Election Day, advanced voting is currently underway.
The township commission official said they are doing everything in their power to correct the issue within the regulations defined by Union Election Commission (UEC).
“In order to have the ink from the stamp in the correct slot….if the cover is closed and the residents don’t take it off before stamping on the ballots, there won’t be any ink on the ballots. If it is opened and the stamp is laid down on the side, the ink will spread. So, we are trying to prevent having invalid ballots without going against the rules and regulations,” said the township election commission official.
Despite the fact that most of the advance voters are civil servants they still don’t understand how to do it properly and it’s creating concerns that their vote could be disqualified, said U Aye Min, Dawei Nationalities Party Regional Parliament candidate.
“The UEC should have educated the public on how to stamp and vote properly from the beginning. It’s their responsibility, yet residents still don’t know,” he said.
With the election only days away the voting irregularities caused by improper stamping are causing some to question if it will be free and fair.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by BNI staff
