General election called for November 8th

General election called for November 8th

Myanmar’s general election will be held on November 8, 2015 and political parties must submit candidate lists to the Union Election Commission by July 20, 2015, said U Nyunt Tin member of the UEC.
“U Tin Aye said the election announcement and also the call for candidate list submissions to the UEC for July 20th will be declared on state media tonight,” U Nyunt Tin told Mizzima.
The coming election has already hada number of flaws mainly in voter lists, and the National League for Democracy has been running campaigns to check and amend the lists in townships around the country with some members being arrested in Naypyitaw for trespassing.
Other flaws in relation to voting lists include duplicate names and also names of the deceased on the lists.
During the 2010 elections it is believed that voter registration was manipulated in favour of the largest contending party, the USDP. The most obvious manipulation was through the advance voting system according to an International Crisis Group report this year.
A campaigning period for political parties will be held 30-days before the election date although it has been said that this is not enough time with some parties calling for a 60-day period.
The National League for Democracy has left it up in the air as to whether or not they will be entering the electoral race due to the 2008 military constitution remaining in place, but rumours suggest that this will be cleared up by July 20th.
Nan Khin Htwe Myint told Mizzima that the NLD had not yet decided whether or not to run in this year’s election but that a Central Committee meeting will be held in two days to decide.