Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday that campaign irregularities threatened the fairness of upcoming elections, sounding a note of caution over her bid for a seat in parliament.
The Nobel laureate, who has spent most of the past 22 years as a political prisoner, complained of a series of problems, including “many, many cases of intimidation” as well as the vandalism of signboards.
“I do not think we can consider it a genuine free and fair election if we consider what has been happening here over the past few months,” the democracy icon told a news conference ahead of tomorrow’s by-elections.
The irregularities are “really beyond what is acceptable in a democratic election,” she added. “Still, we are determined to go forward because this is what our people want.”
The National League for Democracy (NLD) leader said the polls were boosting people’s interest in politics in the country after decades of outright military rule ended last year.
“It is the rising political awareness of our people that we regard as our greatest triumph,” she said. “We do not at all regret having taken part.”
The polls mark the first time that Aung San Suu Kyi has stood for a seat in parliament, and she has drawn huge crowds on the campaign trail.
Experts believe the regime wants the pro-democracy leader to win a seat in a parliament dominated by the army and its political allies to burnish its reform credentials and encourage an end to Western sanctions.
However, Aung San Suu Kyi said that she had no plan to accept a position as a minister in the army-backed government if offered, because under the constitution she would be required to give up her seat in parliament.
“I have no intention of leaving the parliament to which I have tried so hard to get into,” she said, though she added that she might be willing to take on some kind of non--ministerial role.
The NLD has also complained about what it described as “unfair treatment” by the authorities ahead of tomorrow’s vote.
It complained that it has not been allowed to use suitable venues for campaign rallies, while in the constituency where Aung San Suu Kyi is standing, the names of hundreds of dead people were found on the electoral roll.
Burmese President Thein Sein acknowledged in a recent speech that there had been “unnecessary errors” in ballot lists, but said the authorities were trying to ensure the by-elections would be free and fair.
Since taking office a year ago, Thein Sein has released hundreds of political prisoners, eased media restrictions and welcomed the opposition back into mainstream politics.
Unlike in 2010, the government has invited foreign observers and journalists to witness a vote seen as a major test of its reform credentials.
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