Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi barred from casting vote in November elections; Election commission abolishes NLD and other parties; NLD supporters warned against dissent over its dissolution;
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  • Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is officially barred from voting in November elections. According to electoral rolls posted on Monday Suu Kyi's name did not figure in the list of eligible voters. Ahead of the November 7 polls, the junta had enacted several laws aimed at effectively banning the Nobel laureate from voting the electoral rolls, posted at local election commission offices officially confirmed it.1

    Burmese state media have warned the political party of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi National League for Democracy (NLD), to drop protests against its dissolution and have threatened jail for anyone who impedes the coming election. An election commission announcement abolished the NLD and other parties on the grounds that they had failed to register for the poll drew strong criticism from outside the country.2

    Elections in Burma conducted on the basis of townships could mire candidates contesting the 7 November polls in trouble as military junta’s elections will not be based on population, but on townships.3

    According to Myanmar officials some ethnic minority areas will not be allowed to vote in the November 7 poll as the atmosphere there is not conducive to a “free and fair” election. In this regard, more than 200 villages will be excluded from voting. The villages are in the ethnic minority states of Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon and Shan, having bases of armed rebel groups.4

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