Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Behind the Ballot Box
• Pay-boost proposal for Burmese doctors, medical workers
• DVB Debate: How corrupt is Burma’s legal system?

Behind the Ballot Box Posted: 08 Feb 2014 12:00 AM PST   DVB speaks to Union Election Commission spokesperson Thaung Hlaing about electoral procedures, by-elections, and representation of ethnic minorities in the Commission. DVB: The Nationalities Brotherhood Federation ethnic alliance has called for inclusion of ethnic members in the Union Election Commission. What is the commission's opinion on this? TH: Article 398 of the constitution specifies formation and criteria of the Union Election Commission – a minimum of five members appointed by the President with approval by the parliament. Currently, we are constituting sub-commissions with 15 members, six of whom are individuals with public credibility; non-government workers – they can be retired – such as community leaders with no affiliation to a political party or a political candidate, and the remaining nine members being officials from various government departments with relevance to the elections. Regarding the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation's call, it is what they wish for and in order to facilitate it, they will have to propose a bill in the parliament and have it approved as a law.   DVB: Are there ethnic members in the commission and sub-commissions at the moment? What is the percentage? TH: There are ethnic members in the sub-commissions – it cannot be otherwise as members in local-level sub-commissions are required to be residents living in the respective areas as the elections are about determining their national politics. So there are local ethnic members in election sub-commissions in regions such as Chin, Karen and Arakan states who have knowledge and experience on electoral procedures.   DVB: Many ethnic-based political parties have been disbanded or have merged with other parties. Are such procedures allowed by election laws? TH: Officially there are 66 parties in total approved for registration with us to date – there were only 37 parties back in 2010 and two of them were dissolved after failing to complete registration in time. But none of the current 66 parties has been abolished. Some ethnic-based parties are looking to merge with one another. They reasoned with us that the merger is necessary as they are currently small scattered parties and will only be able to work efficiently on matters such as political campaigns with stronger membership provided they can form alliances and coalitions with other parties. However, according to the existing law, an individual cannot participate in two different parties at the same time. Also, materials and assets of a political party, when it is dissolved, shall be obtained by the State. That's why we issued a directive to work around these procedures – allowing two parties to merge into a third party – so that parties can merge without losing their assets.   DVB: There are vacant seats in the parliament left by representatives who passed away or were appointed to government administrations. What is the exact number? TH: There are around 20 vacant seats left by representatives in the upper and lower houses and regional parliaments for various reasons. The UEC's chairman has stated there is no plan for a by-election as the country has been occupied hosting the SEA Games and assuming the ASEAN chairmanship.   DVB: The 2015 elections are about a year and half away – is there any mechanism for constituents of the vacant seats to have their needs addressed in parliament? TH: Citing what our chairman said: there are still mechanisms to allow the public to address their needs as there are three parliament assemblies – upper and lower houses, and the regional assembly – for each township. Although they might be missing a representative for one of the assemblies, they still have representatives in the other two other assemblies so they can still address their issues. Also, our commission has never fully rejected a plan for by-elections. Hosting elections is a process that takes some time – there must be some period of time provided for campaigning, printing ballots, compiling voters lists and training ballot station personnel which may take at least two to three months. The rainy season is coming in a few months and usually it is not a convenient time to host elections. Related Stories DVB talks to British Ambassador to Burma DVB talks to CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar, Ross Cormack Tuja's bid to establish political party is finally approved

Pay-boost proposal for Burmese doctors, medical workers Posted: 07 Feb 2014 08:40 PM PST Burma's Health Minister Dr Pe Thet Khin proposed to parliament on Wednesday a threefold increase in pay for medical workers who are posted to remote areas. The proposal – part of the 2014-15 National Planning Bill – is for the additional salary to be paid by the Ministry of Border Affairs and the relevant regional government, on top of their monthly State pay. Pe Thet Khin suggested that increased pay and the reintroduction of a rotation system for rural postings might put a stop to the problem of medical professionals "deserting" difficult posts. Extending regional healthcare represents one of the greatest challenges for Burma. International relief agency Médecins Sans Frontières has suggested that, in Burma, thousands of people have absolutely no access to healthcare whatsoever. That lack of healthcare services in peripheral areas has proved to be disastrous. In Arakan State the UNICEF figure for malnourished children stood at 10.3 percent before the outbreak of communal violence in 2012. Now, with an estimated 115,000 people living in IDP camps within the state, that figure can only be higher. Related Stories UN pledges support in Burma's fight against malnutrition MSF, OCHA hit back at ‘anti-aid worker sentiment’ in Arakan State Communal tensions running high in Sittwe In Kachin State, before a 17-year-old ceasefire broke down and fighting resumed between the Kachin Independence Army and Burmese government forces, the World Health Organisation noted just 1,000 registered health workers supporting a population of 1.4 million people. Despite increases in healthcare expenditure over the past three years, a trend to be continued in 2014, Burma rates as one of the worst in the world when it comes to health expenditure as a proportion of GDP. Successive Burmese governments have relied heavily on international assistance to prop up its ailing healthcare system. Heath expenditure features at just over three percent of Burma's GDP, the defence spend comes in at over 20 percent. Retired director of the Ministry of Health, Dr Khin Maung Lwin, told DVB in November that "The [current health] budget is $14 a year per person according to the government's data, but actually it is even less than that." It is estimated that one-third of Burma's 30,000 doctors work for the government.

DVB Debate: How corrupt is Burma’s legal system? Posted: 07 Feb 2014 08:15 PM PST While Burma continues on a course of political liberalisation as the country transitions towards democracy, the legacy of judicial corruption remains at the forefront of public debate. Under military rule extreme corruption and the politicisation of Burma's judiciary led to the destruction of rule of law in Burma. Judges are well-known for accepting bribes and following instructions from the executive arm of Government and lawyers regularly face harassment and intimidation. On the panel this week former Magistrate, Khin Than; Pyone Cho from 88 Generation Peace and Open Society; Advocate Maung Maung Win and MP Khin Saw Wai, from the Rule of Law Committee. Cartoon: DVB Debate Panelists debate the biggest challenges to ending corruption in the legal system and raise concerns about the lack of independence in the Judiciary. “The parliamentary judges and the state judges are appointed by the president and the parliament so those parties influence on the legal system is obvious,” says former Magistrate Khin Than. Advocate Maung Maung Win agrees, saying laws used to prosecute corrupt Judges are not enforced. “Since 1988 the anti-corruption law has almost never been used,” he says. Former political prisoner Bo Kyi insists that police are also above the law and sometimes use brutal methods to force false confessions from people . ”The police files a case with the judge and they work together to come down with an unfair verdict.  So until we can charge them we cannot make real change,” he says. However, some argue that it is the system that has led to this situation, not the individuals  ”People are corrupt, not just because of their personal ethics but because of the system.  In our system we fill it with employees whose mindset is set to this system, and we don’t have any independent employees” says lawyer Ko Ni. Lawyers in Burma have little protection within the system.  The country has not independent Bar council and lawers continue to face challenges, particularly in politically sensitive cases. “Especially when a case involves politicians they set limitations for the lawyers so the defence can not do as much. So they actually itimidate the lawyer by trying to lay charges on them,” says Pyone Cho who was arrested and imprisoned for political reasons. Related Stories Despite reforms, Burma's lawyers still live in trying times Parliament passes anti-corruption bill despite president's protests Naypyidaw cracks down on 'corrupt' police in northern Burma In Burma's criminal justice system, more than 90 percent of accused are convicted, often under broad and loosely applied laws, seemingly irrelevant to their original arrest. The panelists at least agree that corruption remains pervasive in the legal system as demand for proper rule of law continues throughout the country. You can join the debate and watch the full programme in Burmese at dvbdebate.com Or share your views with us by commenting on our website at dvb.no

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