Myanmar OKs final road map for polls

Efforts will be taken to ensure fairness in general election, nation's leader says

Myanmar authorities approved the final road map for the pledged general election, and work will be undertaken to ensure accuracy and fairness while ensuring eligible voters don't lose out on their rights, according to the country's leader, Min Aung Hlaing.

At a meeting with officials of registered political parties in the capital Nay Pyi Daw during the weekend, Min Aung Hlaing said the ultimate vision of the government is to hold a free and fair election and hand over the state's responsibilities to the party winning the election, according to the Ministry of Information.

"Upon accomplishing the provisions of the state of emergency, free and fair multiparty democratic elections will be held, and state duties will be handed over to the elected government," Chairman of the State Administration Council and Prime Minister Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying by local newspaper Global New Light of Myanmar.

The Myanmar leader said peace and stability should prevail in the entire nation for initiating the democratic system, emphasizing that implementing an all-inclusive public security system is necessary to ensure peace and stability.

Min Aung Hlaing said a plan is underway to hold meetings with political parties and ethnic groups to exercise the proportional representation system — an electoral system that seeks to create a representative body that reflects the overall distribution of public support for each political party.

"Necessary provisions will be amended in the constitution. To do so, all measures must be taken in the parliamentary process," he said, adding that armed conflicts are hindering preparations for holding the election.

For the people of Myanmar, if elections are not free and fair or genuinely competitive, the result would not mean much, according to James Gomez, regional director at Asia Centre, a research institute based in Bangkok.

The meeting of the party officials was also attended by State Administration Council Secretary Lt Gen Aung Lin Dwe, Joint Secretary Lt Gen Ye Win Oo, Union Election Commission Chairman U Thein Soe, Union Minister for Legal Affairs Thida Oo, legal advisory board members, and representatives from 39 political parties.

Legal assessment

The party representatives discussed their requirements and roles in line with the directives of the SAC under the supervision of the UEC, according to the Ministry of Information.

The UEC chairman, the union minister for Legal Affairs and the member of the Legal Advisory Board clarified issues relating to registration and revocation of parties, and made a legal assessment on suggestions to ease restrictions on political parties.

The Global New Light of Myanmar also reported that Min Aung Hlaing, at the meeting, also spoke about armed conflicts in some areas of the country.

Conflicts in northern Myanmar since October last year have pushed thousands of people across the border into the neighboring countries.

"If the Myanmar State Administration Council fails to retake the ground it lost to rebel forces, the long-awaited election will surely be postponed," Kavi Chongkittavorn, a veteran journalist and an expert on ASEAN and international relations, said in his recent commentary in Bangkok Post.

He said the crisis in Myanmar has hampered the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus — a program to lead the country toward peace — on how to tackle the political crisis the country is facing. The Consensus was adopted by ASEAN in 2021 after the Myanmar military took power.

"Thailand must be more proactive in engaging with all stakeholders in the Myanmar conflict. Meanwhile, as Laos is taking the chairmanship of ASEAN this year, more focus on enhancing connectivity and resilience in the region is expected to be seen. And the goals will be able to be reached only by crafting a holistic approach," he said.