Win Htein, a senior member of the NLD present at the meeting, said the floods were insufficient reason to delay the landmark vote.
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The commission will issue its verdict later Tuesday or on Wednesday.
The post Social media, Internet use soars in Myanmar as historic election nears appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
A delay could also raise questions over the readiness of the powerful military and the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to accept the results of a poll in which the USDP is expected to fare poorly.
The election commission had earlier contended that the impact of August flooding and a continued threat of landslides in mountainous parts of Myanmar had set back preparations for voting in many areas of the country. Three parties expressed no opinion and three others were absent from the meeting.
He said the floods were insufficient reason to postpone the vote that is seen as a key test of democratic progress after half a century of often brutal military rule. In contrast, on a recent rally in the capital of Naypyitaw, those listening to a speech by Hla Htay Win, a USDP candidate and former general, sat silent and started leaving halfway through – prompting a plea from the former general for them to stay till the end.
Romain Caillaud, an analyst at FTI Consulting in Singapore, told Reuters a postponement, even for a short time, would “seriously shake confidence in the willingness of the incumbent elite to further the political transition”.
According to Myanmar law, the next election must be held by January 1 next year, 30 days before the next parliament is due to convene.
A landslide caused by torrential rains killed at least 17 people in remote Kayah state on Monday.
In 1990, the army regime ignored a huge election victory by the NLD and put its leaders in prison.
Foreign companies have poured into Myanmar since its political opening prompted the USA and European Union to relax sanctions. “So the commission has to consider this when deciding whether to postpone or not”, said No Than Kap, who is standing for the Chin Progressive Party.
Thousands of villagers in the heavily Christian areas of Kachin and Karen states in Myanmar will be unable to vote in the country’s November elections due to security concerns – putting a dent in the number of seats that ethnic-based parties can win in the highly anticipated polls.
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The last ceasefire between the army and Kachin rebels collapsed in 2011 under a new quasi-civilian government.
