{"id":1291190,"date":"2023-10-24T19:46:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T19:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/myanmar\/census-10242023154556.html"},"modified":"2023-10-24T19:46:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-24T19:46:30","slug":"pilot-opposition-suggests-no-meaningful-census-for-myanmar-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/10\/24\/pilot-opposition-suggests-no-meaningful-census-for-myanmar-polls\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilot opposition suggests no meaningful census for Myanmar polls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n

Public opposition to a pilot census program conducted by Myanmar\u2019s junta this month has been so strong that the likelihood of a meaningful survey ahead of planned elections is extremely slim, according to experts.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The junta hopes to carry out a survey to get an accurate headcount in the lead up to polls it wants to legitimize its grip on power following the military\u2019s Feb. 1, 2021, coup d\u2019etat, but critics say any vote would be neither free nor fair.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, pro-junta media reported that a pilot census was being conducted from Oct. 1-15 in 20 townships in Naypitaw and 14 regions and states around the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But members of the public told RFA Burmese that they have other, more pressing concerns on their minds, while the anti-junta People\u2019s Defense Force, or PDF, paramilitary group has vowed to do whatever it takes to stop it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t interested [in the census], because it is being done by the junta,\u201d said Tun Myint who, like others interviewed for this report, used a pseudonym due to security concerns. \u201cPeople are struggling to earn a living, so they are interested in neither elections nor a census.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The resident of Yangon region\u2019s Dagon Myohit township said junta authorities had been going door to door during the pilot program, taking the names of the heads of households and questioning occupants about whether or not they live there.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless, the people are not cooperating,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Prior censuses have been conducted by respective ward administrators, sources said, but this time, only a handful of staff from the census bureau have been interviewing residents, along with junta soldiers in plain clothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

San Oo, of Mandalay\u2019s Pyi Gyi Tagon township said that while his area was on the list for this year\u2019s pilot census, he hasn\u2019t seen anyone conducting it there.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2022, they already carried out a headcount, but now they are saying they will do it again,\u201d he said. \u201c[Last year] the heads of wards timidly went from house to house to take the lists [because they knew no one wanted to take part] \u2026 This year, there has been no household survey yet [because of the strong opposition].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

PDF attack on pollers<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

While the public is rejecting the newest census effort, the PDF has said it will take action to prevent it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On Oct. 6, PDF forces attacked a group that traveled to Monywa city\u2019s Tha Pyay Taw village to conduct a survey as part of the pilot project. The attack left one police officer dead and another one wounded, residents told RFA.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"ENG_BUR_Census_10242023.2.jpg\"\n
Workers collect census data in Yangon, Myanmar, on Jan. 11, 2023. Credit: RFA<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Attempts by RFA to contact Myint Kyaing, the junta\u2019s minister of immigration and population, for comment on the pilot census and the public reaction went unanswered Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers, told RFA that it is a \u201cnormal process\u201d for the junta to conduct the pilot census, as accurate population data is needed to hold elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a normal process that the census will be taken once a year and [authorities will] ensure it is accurate if an election is to be held,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are only criticizing it because the process and the election are nearly overlapping.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thein Tun Oo dismissed the attack on the pilot census group in Monywa and the PDF\u2019s vow to disrupt any would-be headcount as the actions of \u201cthose who do not want stability for the country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u2018We will block it\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear when the junta plans to hold elections, if at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The military regime originally planned a poll for this year, but last month, junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing told his cabinet that it wouldn\u2019t take place until after a national census in October 2024, which implies that an actual vote wouldn\u2019t happen until 2025 at the earliest.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bo Galone, a PDF official in Sagaing region\u2019s Yinmarbin township, said there will be no census if his group has anything to say about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will block it using all possible means,\u201d he said. \u201cThey recently conducted the population survey for the first time in [Sagaing\u2019s] Pale township. We launched an attack while they were carrying it out. Since then, they have not taken any more surveys.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Myanmar\u2019s military carried out its first coup in 1962 and an election was finally held in 1990 \u2013 the results of which the then-junta dismissed. The results of the country\u2019s 2015 election, in which Aung San Suu Kyi\u2019s National League for Democracy won a supermajority of seats in parliament, were the first to be generally accepted.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Min Aung Hlaing has said that he will hand over control of the country to whichever party wins in the polls.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \n \n


\r\nThis content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia<\/a> and was authored by By RFA Burmese.
<\/p>\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A pilot program was ignored by the public and attacked by the armed resistance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21984,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2242,4003,42614,42620,70709,1589,34639,25297,6984,785,27149,27150,64044],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1291190"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1291190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1291190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1291191,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1291190\/revisions\/1291191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1291190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1291190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1291190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}