Managar News Agency, Kutkai — Refugees living in camps in northern Shan State's Kutkai Township remain uncertain if they will be able to vote due to what they say is the township election commission’s failure to inform them as to which station they can cast their ballots at. A problem further complicated by an inaccurate voting list, as well as a general lack of security at polling stations.
The election commission first collected the list of eligible voters from respective ward and village administrative offices, but aid workers say that the latest eligible voter list which includes the names of camp residents continued to have serious inaccuracies when it was released on September 14th.
The refugees have made a formal request to the election commission that they be allowed to vote at their nearest polling station because of the long distance to get to some polling stations and security concerns, explains an official with the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) who is assisting with refugees in Kutkai town. It appears that many people in the refugee camps still do not have accurate information about the voting process the official added.
“We’re interested in voting, but we don’t know where the voter list for the refugees has been posted. We don’t know when or where they should vote. We don’t [know] about the eligible voter list. We don’t know what to do,” sayd U Aik Moe, the general clerk of Karlia Refugee Camp in Kutkai Township.
“The eligible voter list was posted at our place. The list said there are 350 eligible voters from Panku Village. There are errors in the voter list such as names and ages. Dead people are included on the list while some people are not included even though they are of age. As it needs to be amended, the voter list is not accurate yet. People from here are interested in voting, but the polling station is in the conflict area so we are confused about voting. We may or may not vote depending on the situation,” said U Thein Aung, a village administrator from Panku Ywar Thit Gyi Refugee Camp.
When Managar News Agency contacted the person in charge of the Kutkai Township Election Commission’s, Moe Kyaw Aung, to inquire about refugees voting in the election he said they are doing their best.
“Two thousand people have been added to the voter list when it was amended between the first and second time it was released. There is an increase in the list from the towns. Village tracts from afar in the rural areas have been added. We collected the list of people that are missing from the voter list so there is an increase in the voter list. As you know, the public is weak so we have been asking them to fill in the forms to add them to the list. We also asked the refugees whether or not they will vote and they replied that they want to vote at their temporary residences. This is their desire. I have added the people from the village tract that I’m visiting in order for them to be able to vote. We have received offers from parties,” Moe Kyaw Aung said.
According to latest voter list, there are over 110,000 eligible voters and 2,000 people have been added to the second voter list.
Although other townships have submitted an accurate voter list of war refugees, the Kutkai Township Election Commission still has not submitted the list from September 17th, says the Shan State Election Sub-Commission official U Hnit San Oo.
Kutkai Township has seven refugee camps, Kutkai KBC, Nam Phat Kar Village KBC, Karlai KBC, Kutkai Catholic, Karlai Village, Mai Yu Lay Village and Panku Ywar Thit Gyi. Each refugee camp has around 150 eligible voters. Although the election commission said the voter list of refugees will be posted at the respective ward and village sub-commission offices on October 14, no accurate voter list has been posted for most of the refugee camps. This has led to concern amongst the refugees that they won't be able to vote in the election.
Translated by Thida Linn with editing by BNI staff.
