Democratic Voice of Burma |
- NLD rejects hybrid voting system
- Bullet Points: 28 October 2014
- Karenni youth bus crashes near Naypyidaw, 1 killed, 20 injured
- NGOs call for govt probe on Roi Ja disappearance
- Shan party calls for early political dialogue
- Koh Tao murders: Burmese men held pending indictment decision
| NLD rejects hybrid voting system Posted: 28 Oct 2014 06:12 AM PDT Burma's lower house of parliament began debating on Monday the eight voting systems proposed by the Electoral Review Commission. Among the proposed systems, the commission said that proposals 3 and 4 should be considered by the lower house because they are “the most appropriate for Burma". However, during Monday's debate, National League for Democracy (NLD) representatives rejected those proposals, both of which combine elements of proportional representation (PR) and "first-past-the-post" (FPTP) voting systems. Ye Tun, an MP from the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, said that during the debate NLD representatives expressed their desire to continue using the current FPTP system. "The NLD said the current FPTP system is simple and ensures transparency for the public," he said. "Moreover, the public never wanted to change voting systems in the first place, so Burma should continue using the current system." The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is known to support changing to a PR system, while the NLD and several ethnic groups are vehemently opposed to altering Burma's voting system—even though PR systems are designed, in part, to give minorities more representation in government. The Electoral Review Commission's first suggestion is to continue using the FPTP system, which is essentially a winner-takes-all electoral system whereby the candidate with the largest percentage of votes in a given district wins. The NLD supports the FPTP system and has previously stated that it "would not accept" any type of PR voting system because Burma has no history of using PR, a voting system which NLD central executive committee member Win Myint described as "not currently relevant" to Burma's political arena. In reality, the NLD wants to stick with the "winner-takes-all" FPTP system because the party has a good chance of winning the largest number of votes in many constituencies in the 2015 election. Yesterday Aung San Suu Kyi said that if the voting system is changed a referendum should be held to gauge public opinion on the matter because the public never asked to change the system in the first place. But all indications are that the NLD will continue supporting the FPTP system. For instance, during yesterday's lower house debate NLD Representative Khin San Hlaing said, "We don't see why the current [FPTP] system should be changed unless it causes a major problem." The Electoral Review Commission's second proposal is a standard PR system, which an MP from the National Democratic Force (NDF) proposed in a bill that eventually passed an upper house vote with the support of USDP representatives. Both the NDF and USDP stand to benefit if Burma changes to a standard PR system because they will be allocated seats in parliament based on the percentage of votes their parties receive in each constituency. Standard PR systems have districts that are geographically large, so each district has many representatives. Citizens then vote for political parties rather than individual candidates, and the parties make a list of their top candidates for each district. If, for example, a party wins 20 percent of the votes in a 100-seat district, then that party's top 20 candidates win a seat in that district. Related StoriesPR systems are thought to benefit minority parties because even if a minority party wins only 3 percent, then it would still qualify for three seats in a 100-seat district. If Burma changes to a PR system, the USDP would have a chance of winning a relatively large number of parliamentary seats because—unlike the FPTP's winner-takes-all method—even if the NLD wins a majority (e.g. 70 percent in a 100-seat district) of votes in a particular district and the remaining 30 percent of people vote for the USDP, then 30 seats would be allocated to the USDP's top 30 picks. If the USDP then enters into a coalition with minority parties (or combines its 30 seats with its constitutionally-guaranteed right to control 25 percent of parliament), then the USDP might end up with enough seats to control parliament by itself. Alternatively, if the USDP does not wind up with a majority of parliamentary seats it could enter into a coalition with minority parties in order to obtain a majority (or plurality) of seats—in which case the USDP would most likely lead the coalition. In either scenario, the USDP would benefit from the PR system at the expense of the NLD. Voting system proposals 3 and 4 are hybrids which combine features of the PR and FPTP systems. They are quite similar—except with regard to the way votes cast for other candidates from the winning candidate's party are treated. Under proposal number 3, these votes are transferred to the winning party and then PR principles are used to distribute seats to the various parties' top picks based on the percentage of votes each party receives. However, under proposal number 4 votes cast for other candidates from the winning candidate's party are transferred to the losing parties, and then PR principles are used in a similar fashion to determine how many seats each party obtains. Proposals 5, 6, 7 and 8 simply recommend that a certain percentage of districts use a standard FPTP system and the rest use a standard PR system. During Monday's lower house debate, the NLD reiterated its conviction that there is no reason to change the voting system that Burma has been using for many years. However, the USDP and NDF are likely to keep pushing for an electoral system that incorporates elements of a PR system. The Electoral Review Commission was established by Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann after various groups—especially the NLD and ethnic groups—objected to the upper house's approval in June of a bill recommending that Burma change to a PR system. It is expected that if a new system is chosen, it will only be used for union parliamentary elections— not regional parliamentary elections. |
| Bullet Points: 28 October 2014 Posted: 28 Oct 2014 05:30 AM PDT On tonight's edition of Bullet Points:
You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news. |
| Karenni youth bus crashes near Naypyidaw, 1 killed, 20 injured Posted: 28 Oct 2014 03:05 AM PDT A bus carrying members of the Union Karenni State Youth (UKSY) crashed en route to Naypyidaw on Sunday, leaving one passenger dead and more than 20 injured. Hkun Beetoo, secretary of the UKSY, said the Shwe Kayah express bus, en route to the Burmese capital from Loikaw in Karenni State, crashed at 4pm on 26 October near Tatkon, some 30km north of Naypyidaw. "The bus's brakes gave way while it was travelling at around 80kmph," he said. "The driver managed to make it round the first turn, but the bus skidded on stones at the second curve and spun around, before crashing heavily off the road." He said there were 33 passengers on board, all UKSY members, plus the driver and his assistant. The young man who was killed was named as Pwa Lu from Demoso town in Karenni. Four others remain in critical condition. The UKSY were on a visit to the capital to take a tour of the Union Parliament. |
| NGOs call for govt probe on Roi Ja disappearance Posted: 28 Oct 2014 02:51 AM PDT More than 120 civic organisations have petitioned the Burmese government to probe into the alleged abduction and disappearance of Sumlut Roi Ja, a Kachin woman, who went missing exactly three years ago today. The 124 Burmese and international organisations that are signatories to the petition have urged the Burmese government to: "Establish an independent and impartial parliamentary commission with a mandate to investigate the disappearance of Sumlut Roi Ja and identify the perpetrators." On 28 October 2011, the Burmese army's Light Infantry Battalion 321 allegedly picked up Sumlut Roi Ja along with her husband and father-in-law near Hkaibang Village, Momauk Township, Kachin State, on allegations of involvement with the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIA). Speaking to DVB last year, her husband Dau Lam said that he and his father managed to break free of their ropes and get away by jumping down a ravine, narrowly escaping a hail of gunfire in the process. Roi Ja who was being closely guarded by the troops, was unable to get away, he said. She has not been seen since. Related StoriesSumlut Roi Ja was 28 years old when she went missing and is assumed dead by relatives after all leads tracing her diminished. Despite witnesses claiming to have seen her been manhandled at the army base prior to her disappearance, civil and judicial authorities dismissed petitions filed by her family and other concerned units. The Burmese military has consistently denied reports alleging their involvement in Roi Ja's abduction and disappearance. The Northern Regional Military Command (NRMC) officer’s , summoned by the Supreme Court in Naypyidaw on March 2012, were acquitted after the lawsuit filed by the victim's husband was dismissed. The Supreme Court cited a lack of evidence. Burmese soldiers have been accused of involvement in more than 70 cases of sexual violence in Kachin State since the conflict between the army and KIA resumed in 2011. Many more cases remain undocumented. "The case of Sumlut Roi Ja underscores the ongoing serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Burma Army in Kachin State, including the deliberate targeting of civilians in conflict, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, and violence against women," stated the petitioners. A report on sexual violence released earlier this year by the Women's League of Burma claimed that the Burmese army has resorted to using rape and sexual violence as a politicised tool or weapon against the ethnic communities. In their petition, the NGOs have also demanded that the Burmese government sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and incorporate its provisions into national law as a matter of priority. |
| Shan party calls for early political dialogue Posted: 27 Oct 2014 10:28 PM PDT The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD)—a major Shan political party—has urged the Burmese government and armed ethnic groups to start political dialogue as soon as possible in order to end armed conflict in Burma. In a statement released on 26 October, the SNLD called for national reconciliation and stressed that political problems in Burma cannot be solved via armed conflict. "At the moment, the armed ethnic groups' Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team [NCCT] and the government's Union Peacemaking Work Committee [UPWC] are negotiating a nationwide ceasefire, but they haven't been able to make progress," said SNLD General Secretary Sai Nyunt Lwin. "It's unlikely the two parties will meet again in October, but we urge them to resume their dialogue as soon as possible because military operations are currently rampant in Shan State, and we think these issues are better resolved at the negotiation table." The Shan party said that conflicts between armed ethnic groups and the government—despite the signing of several ceasefire agreements—have become more complicated, primarily because of a lack of trust and respect between the two sides. The SNLD, which released its statement to mark the 26th anniversary of the party's formation, also called for a review or complete redraft of the 2008 Constitution on grounds that it is not an effective way of solving the country's ethnic problems. The statement also said the SNLD is willing to facilitate an inclusive political dialogue. Related StoriesSai Nyunt Lwin said the SNLD still has not fully prepared for the 2015 elections, but he told DVB that voter education and other activities must be carried out in order to ensure a free and fair election. The SNLD won the second largest number of parliamentary seats in the 1990 election after the National League for Democracy. The Shan party was later disbanded after its leaders—including popular veteran statesman Khun Htun Oo—were detained and given lengthy jail sentences in 2005. Htun Oo was released in a presidential amnesty in 2012, and the party re-registered after Thein Sein became president. Today the SNLD has between 35,000- 40,000 members. |
| Koh Tao murders: Burmese men held pending indictment decision Posted: 27 Oct 2014 09:48 PM PDT Two Burmese men being held in the Koh Tao double-murder case will be spending at least 12 more days incarcerated in Thailand after the Koh Samui Provincial Court approved prosecutors' second request to hold them. Paiboon Achawananthakhun of the Office of Public Prosecution Region 8 told Thai Rath Online that prosecutors led by director-general Thawatchai Siangjaew still have not made a decision on whether to indict, but they needed to hold suspects Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun until they do. The delay is due to additional police investigation ordered by prosecutors in the wake of international criticism of the Thai police’s handling of the killings of Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller. Related StoriesIt was reported that prosecutors had asked investigators to seek written proof from British authorities to confirm that a mobile phone police said to belong to Miller was really his. Mr Paiboon said prosecutors would conclude later whether to order a probe into the suspects’ accusation that they had been assaulted by a Burmese interpreter. As for a petition filed by the suspects’ parents seeking justice for their sons, the Samui state prosecutor’s office said it would forward the plea to the Office of the Attorney General for consideration. Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun have been detained for 24 days. The law allows them to be held for 84 days and if prosecutors fail to indict them within that time they must be released.
This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 27 October 2014. |
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