“The postponement of the elections in Myanmar, even on reasonable grounds and by a short time, would seriously shake confidence in the willingness of the incumbent elite to further the political transition”, said Romain Caillaud, senior director, global risk and investigations practice at FTI Consulting in Singapore.
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The election commissioner doubted whether a fair election could be held in rural areas because of the lingering effects of floods that killed more than 100 people in July and August.
In addition, five townships will not hold polls on November 8 in the semi-autonomous areas of the ethnic Wa group, who had already vowed not to allow the elections on their territory in Shan state. “The roads are not paved, or well constructed, and there are many landslides”.
Election monitors declined to comment on the situation until a final decision is reached by the election commission.
“Some village areas have security restrictions and we have security concerns about those”.
The National League for Democracy has opposed any delay, while the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the Myanmar Farmers Development Party and the National Development Party all backed the proposal. Win Htein said that the floods were insufficient reason to postpone the landmark vote.
They also noted that the election commission was running out of time to print materials and sort out anomalies in voter lists.
Government officials met later Tuesday with the election commission and decided that a delay would cause a variety of problems, officials said. Aung San Suu Kyi, now 70, spent 15 years since then under house arrest.
Myanmar’s Union Election Commission has confirmed that the date of the country’s 2015 general election remains unchanged, according to an official report on Wednesday.
Win Htein, a spokesman for the NLD, said the party was alone in opposing the postponement.
Sheltered by umbrella-wielding supporters, the four plodded through the rain-sodden backstreets, treading between rapidly rising puddles and behind splashes raised by a speaker-laden lorry blaring jaunty ditties lauding the NLD.
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Election campaign by political parties and independents has been in full swing since it started on September 8 and will end on November 6, two days prior to the polling.
