The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) members in Shan State South have reportedly been planning to check eligible voters’ lists as hundreds of people not only from the rural areas but also in towns lost their right to franchise on election day, according to party sources.

“We have learnt that there were hundreds of people, who were unable to vote because their names were not in the voters’ lists,” said Sao Hseng Merng, SNDP candidate in Shan State South’s Panglong sub-township, Loilem township.

“All family members lost the right to vote in some households. We are therefore planning to check all eligible voters’ names and will submit it to the Union Election Commission to reconsider them,” he said.

Party members from 11 townships in Shan State South sent their complaints to township election commissions on 12 November regarding the “unfair process” of the elections results, according to him. But so far there has been no response from the election commissioners.

“We hope the UEC will take action without bias on the results. If it is so, we hope to regain some of the seats we had lost due to advance votes,” he added.

According to him, if their appeal is successful, the party expects to get at least 30 out of 34 seats contested in Shan State South. Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) had won 50 seats in Shan State, six in Kachin State and one in Mandalay Region.

Many dominant parties were reported to have won many seats with the votes cast on election day but they lost the contest after advance votes were counted. The said problems were widely reported to have taken place around the country besides Shan State.

Taang (Palaung) National Party (TNP) also sent its complaint to the UEC to review the elections results to be free and fair a few days after the elections.

The UEC has announced its final results, where the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won 883 seats of the 1,154 seats contested, according to Xinhua.