Irregularities in absentee voting in Singapore, Malaysia

Burmese activists in Singpore held demonstration near the Burmese embassy urging voters to reject the draft constitution by casting 'No'.

Mungpi & Myint Maung
Mizzima News
April 27, 2008

New Delhi – Absentee voting in the referendum conducted by the Burmese embassy in Singapore has turned out to be a farce and is being held only in name. It does not include all eligible voters, Burmese citizens in Singapore said.

New Delhi – Absentee voting in the referendum conducted by the Burmese embassy in Singapore has turned out to be a farce and is being held only in name. It does not include all eligible voters, Burmese citizens in Singapore said.

A Burmese worker in Singapore, who saw the voters list prepared by the embassy said there were only about 10,000 registered names, where as Singapore hosts at least 40,000 legal Burmese students and workers.

"As far as we are aware there are at least 40,000 or more Burmese citizens with valid passports and legal documents, who are eligible for voting but the list had only about 10,000 names," the Burmese worker, who on Sunday cast his vote, said.

Besides, he said that the procedure for the voting took several hours and many people after arriving for voting at the embassy could not wait and left without casting their votes.

"It took us about three hours of waiting in front of the embassy before we were able to vote. Many people left without voting because people here are busy with their own work," the worker said.

He added that several of his friends, at least 60, who waited patiently cast a 'No' vote. However, he expressed fears that their votes might be rigged and changed to 'Yes' votes as the results will not be announced at the embassy.

"All our friends cast the 'No' and I believe most people will cast 'No' ballots. But what we fear is since the results are not going to be announced here but will be announced along with others in Burma, there could be a possibility that our votes might be changed to 'yes' votes," the worker said.

He also said that with only about 500 people able to cast their votes a day, the number of days earmarked for voting will not accommodate even those in the list.

"As far as I have observed, a maximum of 500 people can vote per day, and according to their announcement the voting will continue for five days, which would at the most provide a chance to only 2500 to 3000 people to vote," he added.

The Burmese embassy in Singapore, however, was not reachable for comment as no official picked up the telephone when contacted by Mizzima.

Meanwhile, in Malaysia several Burmese citizens, who approached the embassy for voting on Sunday, were sent away by the Malaysian police for wearing red T-shirts that had the word 'No' printed on it.

A Burmese worker in Kuala Lumpur, who has a valid permit and was among those who were shooed away, told Mizzima that the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur informed the Malaysian police to remove them as they were wearing the T-shirts.

He said they had put on the T-shirt to campaign among the people to reject the junta's draft constitution by voting 'No'.

Meanwhile, a Burmese worker who had come to Kuala Lumpur from his worksite in Penang province said, he along with 40 of his friends, who had come from Penang, had cast a 'No' vote.

He added that several people who had come from the Penang province of Malaysia had cast 'No' votes and he put the number at nearly 100.

A Burmese student studying in Kuala Lumpur, who had just come out of the booth told Mizzima that she had cast a 'No' vote.

"I cast a 'No' vote because the draft constitution is not written for the benefit of the people but only to strengthen military rule in our country," she added.

However, despite she and her friends having cast 'No' votes, she expressed concern saying that the junta might change their votes into supporting votes as the results are not meant to be announced at the station.

According to sources in Burma, the junta has instructed polling station officers that all the ballots would have to be sent to higher authorities and ultimately to Naypyitaw, the country's capital, where the accumulated ballots for the polling across the country would be counted and the results declared.

The booth and the ballot paper

A Burmese woman, who just came out of the embassy's polling station after casting her vote on Sunday, told Mizzima that the actual booth inside the embassy premises has a separate room, where voters can secretly tick their votes before casting it into the box.

"I was handed a ballot paper as I went in and was allowed to go to the separate room, where I voted. And then I cast it into the box," she said.

On the ballot paper, she said there was the seal of the ballot station and a statement which said 'I support/do not support the draft constitution' with a box below, where voters are required to tick ( ) for supporting and cross ( X ) for not supporting it.