Vote not anonymous: Burmese Embassy Official

By Burma Campaign Australia • October 7, 2010

In an interview on 6 October with SBS radio journalist Kate Stowell, Wunna Han, a spokesperson for the Burmese embassy in Canberra, said voting in the upcoming election would not be anonymous.

The interview discussed how Burmese residents living in Australia could vote in the upcoming election in Burma.

Kate Stowell asked Wunna Han: “Are those votes’ anonymous votes?”

He replied: “No, not anonymous”.

The interview can be listened to here.

Burma Campaign Australia spokesperson Zetty Brake said this was just another example of why these elections are not credible or legitimate.

“Being able to vote anonymously is a key condition for an election being seen as credible or legitimate,” Ms Brake said.

“If you can’t vote anonymously at the embassy in Canberra, what chance do people living in Burma have to cast their vote without the regime knowing who they voted for?

“It is a form of voter intimation and as voting the wrong way in Burma could have serious repercussions for people”.

Ms Brake called on the Australian Government to stop talking about free and fair elections and to start talking about this process’ legitimacy and credibility.

“This is not about a free or fair election. It is about a manipulative attempt of regime legitimisation being sold as a democratic election. Australia knows this. The world knows this. The world must be clear when we talk about the election in Burma. The spokesperson at the embassy is very clear. These elections cannot be free or fair, as former Foreign Minister Stephen Smith has said. It is time for the Australian government to go that step further and state categorically that the elections will not be credible or legitimate”.

For further comment please contact Zetty Brake on 0416289235.

Tags: 2010 Elections, Burma Campaign Australia, Voting

This post is in: Press Release

Vote not anonymous: Burmese Embassy Official

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