Sittwe: The election commission in Arakan is yet to announce the results of the referendum, but township authorities throughout Arakan State announced on Sunday that the majority of voters were in favour of the draft constitution and cast "Yes" votes.
According to an observer in Sittwe, 80 percent of voters cast the "Yes" vote in the referendum, but the election was not free or fair, with many people being forced to cast "Yes" votes by authorities at the polling booths.
One woman voter in Sittwe said over telephone that in her family there were ten members who were eligible to vote in the referendum, but the authorities did not allow all ten to vote, instead needed just one person to cast a vote. Furthermore, the authorities had already marked the ballots with a "Yes" vote, with the voter simply placing the ballot in the box.
An official from Maungdaw said that the chairman of the Maungdaw election commission Khine Maung Tun announced on Sunday that 90 percent of the voters supported the referendum. In Maungdaw Township, 168,125 votes were cast.
Similarly, the commissioners from some townships announced the results of the polls as follows:
In Ann Township, location of Western Command Headquarters, there were 56,814 eligible voters, with 26,116 turning out to vote. Among those, 25,596 cast "Yes" votes, while 489 cast "No" votes, and 31 cast 'dispel' votes.
In Ma Ei Sub town under Ann Township, there were 42,336 eligible voters, with 38,990 turning out to vote.
In Mray Bon Township in central Arakan had 42,336 voters on the list, and 38, 990 came to the polling booths.
In Gwa Township, Arakan's southernmost township near Irrawaddy Division, there are 24,579 registered voters, where 24,515 voters xame to the polling booths and 19,264 cast "Yes" votes, 4,433 cast "No" votes, and 818 cast dispel votes.
In Pauktaw Township, 50 miles east of Sittwe, 80,015 voters were registered, and 72,525 turned up to vote and 72,128 cast "Yes" votes, no one cast "No" votes, and 397 cast dispel votes.
In Kin Tali sub-township under Gwa, there were 15,382 voters on the list with all of them turning out to vote. Among them, 12,705 voters cast "Yes" votes, 2,409 voters cast "No" votes and 268 cast dispel votes.
In Manaung Township, located in Manaung Island, there were 26,770 voters in the list, with 15566 voters turning up.
In Thandwe Township, home to Ngapali beach, there were 71,278 voters in the list, with 71270 voters turning up. Among them, 56178 voters cast "Yes" votes, 11,675 voters cast "No" votes, and 3,417 cast dispel votes.
In the urban area of Taungup Town, where many protests during last year's Saffron Revolution, there were 20,941 voters on the list, with 19,874 voters turning up at the polling booths. Among them, 12,978 voters cast "Yes" votes, 7,896 voters cast "No" votes and 3,556 cast dispel votes.
In Rambree Township, located in Rambree Island, there were 64,789 voters on the list, with 58,324 voters coming to the polling booths. Among them, 37,209 voters cast "Yes" votes, 18,806 voters cast "No" votes and 23, 09 cast dispel votes.
According to an official source, in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, 29 out of 31 wards supported the referendum by casting "Yes" votes, but Mizan and Byin Pru Wra Wards cast majority "No" votes.
In Arakan State there are 17 townships altogether - the remaining townships' vote results will be released in the future when the government reveals the final result of the referendum.
