简体中文
Myanmar's Union Election Commission (UEC) has pledged a free and fair general election in 2015, calling on political parties, civil society organizations and international aid groups to cooperate for the upcoming event, according to the commission Tuesday.
However, UEC Chairman U Tin Aye asked civil society organizations to be free from political bias when they observe the upcoming election initially set for the last week of October or the first week of November 2015.
U Tin Aye told a workshop on such cooperation that the commission carried out a pilot project to compile voting lists in Yangon region, Kachin and Chin states recently with the participation of 25 civil society organizations.
He revealed that international organizations have offered to come to Myanmar for observation.
He added that legal migrant workers in foreign countries are arranged to cast votes in Myanmar embassies there. However, those who stay and work illegally abroad are to return to their homeland if they want to cast the votes.
The commission said it will announce the voting list for advance-voting at polling stations and will count the votes at 4 p. m. in the presence of observers for transparency and accountability in counting advance-votes.
Myanmar last held its general election on Nov. 7, 2010, when the Union Solidarity and Development Party won the majority votes with its Chairman U Thein Sein elected as the country's president to lead the civilian government after five decades of military rule.
On April 1, 2012, a by-election, which was the first, was held in which the opposition party, the National League for Democracy, won 43 out of 45 then open parliamentary seats with its chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi occupying a seat of House of Representatives (Lower House).
The second by-election, which was originally scheduled for near the end of this year, has been declared canceled due to coincidence of the upcoming ASEAN Summit to be hosted by Myanmar next month.
