Junta includes underage people in voters' list

By KNG

April 14, 2008 - The Burmese military regime has included thousands of underage people in Northern Burma in the voters' list it has prepared countrywide for the constitutional referendum on May 10, according to its draft figure.

The draft figure has listed a total of 213,000 voters including people less than 18 years in Myitkyina Township the capital of Kachin State. The list has been handed over to Brig-Gen Thein Zaw, Minister of Communication and Post &Telegraph early last month by local members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), USDA sources said.

Among the voters over 97,000 are from among members of the USDA and the junta has included over 33,000 members under 18 years old, according to a vote station member in Myitkyina.

Kachin capital Myitkyina Township has the maximum number of eligible voters in Kachin State and the township has 13 sub-townships in the west parts of the Mali Hka (Irrawaddy River).

The draft voters' list was prepared by local USDA members and 103 polling stations were set up in Myitkyina Township, the local vote commission said.

Of them, the highest number of 38 polling stations is being set up only in Myitkyina downtown and the rest will be in other sub-townships and villages including one polling booth in Myitkyina Prison, the sources added.

All polling stations will be constructed in the same format and polling booths will be divided into three sections such as for 1,000 persons, from 1,000 to 2,000 people and from 2,000 to 3,000, people according to the Vote Commission.

Members of polling stations and the Vote Commission who were appointed by the regime in Myitkyina assume that the regime may convert the current voters' list of Myitkyina Township as pre-votes.

At the moment in Myitkyina Township, special representatives and administrators of the regime's township to village level are busy with meetings on the constitutional referendum, local sources said.