A report on the 8 November elections in Chin State issued by the Horn Bill Organisation (HBO) election watch group on 5 December said that of 273,000 eligible voters in Chin State only 99,674 voted.
It also said that voter education and awareness of the Union Electoaral Commission's (UEC's) rules and regulations were poor at the village and block level in most areas of Chin State.
U Chhanlian the director of the Horn Bill Organisation said: “Most people were not aware of how to vote or why to vote in the election. When political parties campaigned for the election people didn’t understand their arguments of why to vote for their party or the value of being entitled to vote This did not only happen in Chin State, it also happened in other states and regions."
Other problems the report highlighted were mistakes in the voter lists prepared by village and block level Sub-Election Commissions, outsiders being involved in the voting process and insecure voting booths. It said that only 55.1 per cent of voting booths were sufficiently secure.
HBO will release the finalised election report in full during the last week of December.
HBO was established in 2010 to empower local community organisations and to educate government about political affairs.
Edited in English by Mark Inkey for BNI
