Not everybody thinks it was a fair election

https://khrg.org/2020/11/statement-2020-myanmar-election

During the November 8 national election, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) is concerned about the integrity of the election process in both Southeast Myanmar and across the country. In our observations of the electoral process, KHRG has identified various areas of concern that undermine that credibility of a free and fair election occurring in Myanmar. These violations exist in addition to the 2008 Constitution’s reservation of legislative power for military appointees, which is already a fundamental violation of popular representation.

In a democratic society, the population must have free access to information in order to make informed decisions about their electoral choices. However, the Government of Myanmar has blocked access to the websites of news media and civil society organizations. Moreover, Covid-19 prevention measures have been used to forbid the work of the Myanmar press, which has been deemed nonessential by the government despite the vital role of the free press in the electoral process.

There are also serious concerns about the lack of transparency with the Union Election Committee (UEC). The body designated to conduct the 2020 election has announced that 53 village-tracts in Southeastern Myanmar, alongside many constituencies from ethnic majority areas across the country, will not be able to participate in the upcoming election. Furthermore, the UEC also initially denied the People’s Alliance for Credible Election (PACE), the country’s largest independent election monitors, from observing the electoral process. This lack of transparency calls into doubt any political victories that result from the November 8 vote. The UEC has also censored political campaigns from addressing important national issues like land rights and election reform in their one and only opportunity to present their platforms to the national audience on state-controlled media platforms.

KHRG calls into question the validity of these elections and urges the Government of Myanmar to immediately address any violations that may have resulted in disenfranchisement or the silencing of political discourse. The right to political participation must be guaranteed for all the people of Myanmar. Legislative reservations for the Tatmadaw must end immediately in order to allow true democratic representation in federal government. Until these reforms are made, KHRG stands with other civil society actors in condemning this election.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/10/05/myanmar-election-fundamentally-flawed

The Union Election Commission’s mVoter2020 app, developed with the support of international election organizations, includes unnecessary and inflammatory race and religion information about candidates and their parents. A candidate in Rakhine State, Dus Muhammed, also known as Aye Win, of the Democracy and Human Rights Party, is listed as “Bengali-Bamar.” Bengali is a racist term that Burmese nationalists widely use for the Rohingya.

“It’s appalling that Aung San Suu Kyi is determined to hold an election that excludes Rohingya voters and candidates,” Adams said. “She knows that real democracy cannot flourish in an apartheid regime imposed on the Rohingya.”

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ethnic-identifiers-myanmar-election-app-criticized-73361757

YANGON, Myanmar – A Sweden-based organization that promotes democracy and assists in organizing elections said Thursday it is not responsible for a smartphone application's inclusion of a controversial term describing the ethnic background of at least two candidates in Myanmar’s upcoming elections.

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, or International IDEA, said in a statement that the content in the mVoter2020 mobile application “is the sole responsibility” of Myanmar’s Union Election Commission. The UEC along with the Asia Foundation and STEP Democracy, an EU-funded project implemented by International IDEA in Myanmar, launched the app and its companion website on Tuesday. It is intended to provide voters with information about candidates and the voting process.

The controversy involves the inclusion of the categories “race,” “religion” and “parents’ race” for candidates in the Nov. 8 polls. In at least two cases, it identifies candidates as Bengali or part-Bengali, a term used by the government for Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority that faces widespread prejudice in Buddhist-dominated Myanmar.

Requests to the the UEC and the U.S.-based Asia Foundation for comment received no response.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/402470/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-MPs-criticise-US-Congressman-Tom-Malinows.aspx

Head of Egyptian parliament's Human Rights Committee Tarek Radwan sharply criticized US Congressman Tom Malinowski for his support of Muslim Brotherhood activists and political Islam movements.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Radwan said the attempts being exerted by Tom Malinowski - a Democratic party member of the House of Representatives - to open the doors of the US Congress before members of Muslim Brotherhood are totally rejected. "Malinowski has recently announced the formation of the so-called Egypt Human Rights Caucus, and wants to use this forum to allow members of the Muslim Brotherhood to hold hearing sessions and conferences inside the US congress on the situation of human rights in Egypt," said Radwan, adding that "the step is a dangerous development because it represents a violation of the UN Charter which states that no country has the right to directly or indirectly interfere into the internal and external affairs of any other country."

According to Radwan, it is the duty of Egyptian parliamentarians who represent all classes of the Egyptian society to issue initiatives to the US Capitol Hill, cautioning US Congressmen like Tom Malinowsky against forging contacts with political Islam and jihadist movements. "It is very dangerous to forge contacts with such malicious movements because in this way you help them infiltrate the American society and pose a threat to American national security itself," said Radwan, also emphasising that "political Islam movements are a big danger to the stability and security of Egypt and other Arab countries which designated Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization."