21 May 20
1. Regarding the Multiparty General Election held on 8 November 2020, the Union Election Commission has inspected the voter lists and the casting of votes of Shwebo, KhinU, Dabayin, Tamu, Kawlin, Kalewa and Minkin townships of Sagaing Region.
2. According to the inspection, the previous election commission released 802,065 eligible voters in these seven townships of Sagaing Region. The list of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population in November 2020 showed 681,475 eligible voters who had turned 18. The voter lists mentioned that there were 74,390 citizens, associate citizens, naturalized citizens, and non-identity voters, 4,900 persons repeated on the voter lists more than three times and 77,982 persons repeated on the voter lists two times.
3. Findings in respective townships were as follows:
4. The Union Election Commission has inspected the withdrawal/receipt/use/remaining of ballot papers used for Pyithu Hluttaw Election of Shwebo, KhinU, Dabayin, Tamu, Kawlin, Kalewa and Minkin townships of Sagaing Region together with the respective township election sub-commission, head of police force, Immigration and Population and administrators in accordance with Section 53 of the Hluttaw Election Law.
5. According to the inspection, a total of 819 polling stations in these seven townships took out 902,994 ballots and used 638,778 ballots. It left 251,187 ballots instead of 264,216 ballots. The difference was 26,608 ballots and it found 13,579 extra ballots. The extra/shortage ballots were found at respective polling stations. Findings in respective townships were as follows:
6. According to the inspections on voter lists of these seven townships of Sagaing Region, the numbers of eligible voters are more 120,590 than the voter lists according to the lists of citizens, associate citizens, naturalized citizens who turned 18 in November 2020 of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population and Hluttaw Election Law Section 6 (a).
7. There are 74,390 non-identity voters. Moreover, Hluttaw Election Law Section 15 (c) in Chapter VI, “Preparation of Voting Roll” stated, “Whoever has the right to vote in any constituency shall not be included in the voting roll of any constituency other than that of the constituency concerned at the same time.” But, there were 4,900 persons repeated on the voter lists more than three times and 77,982 persons repeated on the voter lists two times in these seven townships of Sagaing Region.
8. The poll heads failed to follow the Hluttaw Election Law rule 66 (h) and two ballot books (100-ballot) of Chaung Sone Village-tract and 13 ballot books (650 ballots) of unknown ward/village-tract of Shwebo Township were returned to the officials after the election.
9. At No (1) polling station of Nyaung Hla Village-tract of Dabayin Township, the advance ballots were not separately used and it found 18 ballot books (900 ballots) used in other polling stations. The poll heads did not follow Rules 66 (h) of the Hluttaw Election Law and 9 ballot books (450 ballots) of Aye Thaya, Settaw, Min Swe Hnint and Thabeik Le village-tracts were returned after the election.
10. The Hluttaw Election Law Rules 15 (a) stated, “Every citizen, associate citizen, naturalized citizen and holder of temporary certificate, whose name is included in the voting roll of a constituency shall have the right to vote only in the said constituency”. It did not find the signatures of ward/village-tract election sub-commission chairman and secretary in Form (1) of 18 village-tracts in Kalewa township and 23 village-tracts of Minkin Township.
11. Findings in seven townships of Sagaing Region were as follows:
(a) There were 645,726 voters and they used 638,778 ballots out of all withdrawals, which was 6,948 less than the numbers of voters.
(b) It found 26,608 missing ballots in withdrawals and used ballots.
(c) It found 13,579 extra ballots at some polling stations.
(d) They did not follow the Hluttaw Election Law Rules 66(h) and separately returned the ballot receipts/remaining ballots to the township election sub-commission only after the election.
(e) In every page of Form (1) book, it did not found the signatures of the chairman and secretaries of ward/village-tract election sub-commission according to the Hluttaw Election Rules 15 (a).
(f) It did not find the names of voters, voting numbers, polling station numbers, Ward/village-tracts, signatures or fingerprints on the ballot receipts used in some polling stations.
(g) Some of the ward/village-tract election sub-commissions failed to return the ballot receipts and extra ballots in accordance with the law and so the ballots were found missing.
(h) The non-identity voters were on the voter lists and the voters cast votes just with the certificates without any national identity cards.
(i) They conducted measures that violate the law when they started collecting advance ballot.
(j) They released the COVID-19 related instructions, which were not in conformity with the law, to collect voter lists and advance votes when the election drew near.
12. It found voting frauds in Shwebo, KhinU, Dabayin, Tamu, Kawlin, Kalewa and Minkin townships of Sagaing Region. The excess/shortage ballots were found in the inspection. They failed to follow the stipulations of the Hluttaw Election Law and Rules.
Union Election Commission
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