SHAPE SEA, Nov. 6, 2020
Zaw Win, Student, Asia Pacific MA Human Rights and Democratization , Global Campus of Human Rights Asia Pacific,Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol University
How could an election be free and fair if it is not based on the
principles of equality, justice, and inclusivity? A free and fair
election is one of the essential pillars in a democratic country where
the government authority derives from its people’s wills. A democratic
government should also exhaust and exert all its efforts to be a
credible, free, and fair election in a transparent way based on the
principles of justice, equality, and inclusivity.
After almost a decade since Myanmar’s transition to democracy, the
current government will again embark on a democratic vote on 8 November.
This is amid the rise of Covid-19 cases throughout the country, on top
of ongoing armed conflicts. Moreover, the Union Election Commission
seems to be determined to make the coming general elections free and
fair. It sets out the motto of “Credible Elections Paving the Way to Democracy to
conduct free, fair, and credible elections transparently and
impartially, of serving all with equal rights to establish a strong
democratic system.” At the same time, the Commission disregards the
true principles of justice, equality, inclusivity for a specific group
of people who hold the same rights in Myanmar.
Until 2015, Rohingyas had, like any other citizens, the right to vote
and be elected in a public election. These rights have been
systematically stripped off when authorities revoked the Rohingyas’ last
legal document called Temporary Registration Cards locally known as
White Cards in 2014 (Dinmore, 2015; BCC, 2015) and rejection of former
elected Rohingya Members of Parliament for the 2015 general election
(Mann, 2015). Regarding the rejection by the Union Election Commission
in 2015, U Shwe Maung, a former Rohingya MP of Lower House (Pyithu
Hluttaw) from 2010 to 2015 responded as “It’s ridiculous for me and I
was elected in 2010. Now I’m working” (Mclaughlin, 2015). Moreover, A
Rohingya leader, U Kyaw Min, chairperson of the Democracy and Human
Rights Party who won a seat in the 1990 elections highlights the
background context of Rohingya legal status, “It is not just the first
time that we are trying to take part in this coming general election of
Myanmar, and we had been allowed to involve and engage in Myanmar
politics since the election under 91 departments in 1935. We were also
represented in the Constituent Assembly after the 1947 general elections
under the leadership of General Aung San as a legitimate ethnic group
long before Myanmar Independence” (interview with MCN TV News on 7
October 2020).
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