Voter education gap emerges as Myanmar introduces electronic voting
164
Hsu/ Thet Paing (NP News) - September 10
In an interview with The Statesman, officials from several political parties stressed the urgent need to raise public awareness about the electronic voting machines which are to be used in the upcoming election.
"People in Rakhine have never seen a voting machine, and even I have not encountered one in person," said U Ba Shein, the founder of the Rakhine Nationalities Party.
He added, “All we can tell our voters is to ‘try your best to cast your vote and make sure you give it to the symbol you want.’ But even we don’t fully understand it yet. When it comes to explaining voter education, I myself have never seen the machine—I have only seen it in photos,” he said.
U Htet Aung Kyaw, Joint Chairman of the National Democratic Force Party, said the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine (MEVM) is simple to use and easy to understand. He added that with the election approaching, it is necessary to increase voter education efforts.
He explained, “The voting machines are designed to be very simple, so I don’t think they will be too difficult. I also heard that videos have already been made to show how to vote. If these are used for voter education, things should go smoothly.”
According to the Union Election Commission (UEC), the first phase of the election will be held on December 28. For the Pyithu Hluttaw, a First-Past-the-Post (FPTP) system will be used. However, a mixed system of both FPTP and Proportional Representation (PR) will be used for the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Region and State Hluttaws.
While the UEC has confirmed that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will be deployed in the upcoming elections, political parties have expressed concern that voter education efforts remain insufficient.