Khin Tharaphy Oo - Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC) has rejected a military request that the former entity provide copies of election-related documents to facilitate the latter’s review of the November 8 general election.

Myanmar’s military (aka Tatmadaw) announced on November 30 that after learning of election-related disputes across the country, it would scrutinise and review the electoral process in 218 townships to determine whether the election was conducted in accordance with the law.  

The Tatmadaw asked the UEC to instruct its subcommissions to provide copies of documents related to voting by military personnel to ensure that the election was free and fair.  

But the UEC on Monday rejected as “unlawful” the military’s assertion of electoral authority, saying that there is no such provision in election laws and by-laws stipulating that requests for copies of election documents must be fulfilled.

Before that, the UEC on December 3 instructed its subcommissions not to hand out electoral documentation without its permission after Myanmar’s military called for documents to be provided in its probe into claims of election fraud.

The commission in Monday’s statement said voter lists and election documents have been sealed and stored by concerned district subcommissions under Section 86(b) of election by-laws. The statement added that the election laws and by-laws do not stipulate that requests for copies of sealed voter lists must be honoured.

The chairman of the Arakan National Party (ANP), U Tha Tun Hla, said present conditions are the repercussions of the UEC’s lack of transparency in the pre-election period.

“We’d say the UEC has needed greater transparency since before the election. This problem happened as the Tatmadaw attempted to capitalise on the current political landscape,” he said.