Push to educate voters to ensure credible election

The Catholic Church is educating Myanmar citizens about their democratic rights to ensure that next year’s general election – the second in more than 50 years – is not “worthless”, writes Abigail Frymann Rouch.

Two priests visiting from Myitkyina Diocese in Myanmar’s (Burma’s) northern Kachin state for World Mission Sunday last weekend told The Tablet that the Church was eager to make the most of the new climate created by the ending of press censorship and recent loosening of restrictions on political activism.

The Church is running voter education programmes and monitoring government preparations for the poll, said Fr Noel Naw Lat, who with Fr Paul Lum Dau was visiting courtesy of the papal mission charity Missio.

Fr Lum Dau said: “The Government makes it extremely difficult to get ID.” Most of those needing paperwork were from the rural areas, where he said the military “is trying to obstruct” the preparations.

Elections in 2010 returned the ruling military government’s Union Solidarity and Development Party to power but the opposition National League for Democracy, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, boycotted them and the US and Australia deemed them fraudulent.