Pre-vote Under Control of Mon Ceasefire Group

May 6, 2008

HURFOM:

In the lead up to the May 10 referendum, pre-vote boxes were sent to New Mon State Party (NMSP) controlled areas yesterday, according to a NMSP officer in Halockani camp.

The pre-voting period will conclude by May 10, in line with the Three Pagodas Pass Vote Commission instructions to the NMSP.

“All the votes will be given to the head villager who will then coordinate any outstanding voters,” a NMSP officer explained. The party has to send all the votes to township authorities at Three Pagodas Pass; votes sent must correspond to the total numbers on the ID lists collated by the voting commission during their ‘ID drives’ in controlled areas recently.

The party officer added that many people are planning to vote soon.

“The ballot paper has two sides. One side is to tick Yes or No while the other side is for your full address. People have to write their full address including ID numbers,” said an eyewitness, a Mon human right worker.

Many people were worried that in instances where they vote against the constitution the vote commission may alter their vote to one in support; votes will not be counted in front of an independent body, making transparency and accountability minimal.

According to the NMSP, votes will be counted in Kyainnseikyi township in Karen State.

A villager who plans to vote against the constitution in Halockani Mon Refugee Camp said, “If the vote is not counted in front of us, although we can close the vote envelope, they can open it, remove our vote and replace it with their vote.”

An NMSP officer said, “The vote doesn’t seem fair because the people can not see the vote counting in front of them. Also, the people have to write their full address including ID number, which makes a lot of people scared.”

He explained that if the area was under the government’s control some people may not dare to vote ‘No’ because they are worried about their security.

The vote commission continues to campaign strongly with their ‘Vote Yes’ propaganda. According to a Pegu division arrival on the border, in some areas the junta has offered awards to good organizers if they can coordinate many people.

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News