CHANGES have been proposed to allow soldiers and their family members cast votes outside of military camps during elections in Myanmar.
The proposal tabled by the Union Election Commission (UEC) would abolish military polling stations if passed by the Union Parliament, according to The Irrawaddy.
The UEC sought polling stations to be set up outside military camps so that soldiers and their family members can cast votes with civilian voters.
This aims to make the process more transparent as it allows for candidates, observers and party representatives to move freely and monitor at the polling stations.
Concerns have been raised recently on election process in military camps, prompting the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) to oppose placing polling stations inside barracks ahead of the general election next year.
Military spokesperson Major-General Tun Tun Nyi in response to the NLD’s objection had said members of the military and their families need to vote inside the barracks as they are busy to go outside.
“We are on duty 24 hours per day. It is difficult for both military personnel and their family members to go vote outside,” he said in a military press conference in Naypyitaw last month.
Since the 2010 general election, military personnel and their family members have voted in military compounds.
As Myanmar held a general election in 2015 and three by-elections in 2012, 2017 and 2018, monitoring of polling stations inside military compounds and the areas where military personnel live remained limited for security reasons.
In previous elections, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) saw a landslide victory at military polling stations.
Myanmar’s military has an estimated 500,000 personnel. With the addition of family members, over 1 million people out of an estimated 32 million eligible voters in the 2015 election were affiliated with the military.
The UEC’s draft amendments also included changes to the system that allows military voters to cast votes in advance of elections.
The amendment states that military voters outside their assigned constituencies will need to cast their advance votes at their military bases at the time and date scheduled by the UEC, instead of the date scheduled by their commanders.
The draft changes also included a provision that would allow people to request to transfer their registered voting location to their current residence after only 90 days living in a location, rather than the current minimum of 180 days.
NLD lawmaker U Nay Myo Tun from the Lower House bill committee said the UEC’s proposed changes will come into effect within 90 days if there is no objection from parliament.
USDP lawmaker U Thaung Aye expressed opposition to the UEC’s proposed amendments.
He said the UEC should make changes only after carefully studying the military’s nature and structure.
U Thaung Aye added that voting outside the military compound would create difficulties for military voters and jeopardise the security of the camps.