May 10, Irrawaddy
Massive cheating reported from Referendum polling stations
Burma's constitutional referendum went ahead as planned on Saturday in
areas not affected by Cyclone Nargis, amid accusations of massive cheating
at the polling stations and reports of a very low turnout.
Many voters in several Rangoon townships, Mandalay, Pegu, Sagaing and
Magwe divisions told The Irrawaddy that referendum officials had handed
out ballot papers already filled in with a tick, indicating approval of
the government's draft constitution.
They also complained that the referendum was not free and fair, saying
they cast their votes watched by officials, including members of the
government-backed mass organization Union Solidarity and Development
Association and militias such as Swan-Ar-Shin. Officials of the
organizations sat close to the ballot boxes and advised people how to
vote.
Voter turn-out was reported to be very light, despite fevered attempts by
the regime to persuade people to participate. State TV broke into
programming throughout the day with a video showing a group of smiling
young women singing a ditty in support of a "Yes" vote. "Let's go vote
..... with sincere thoughts for happy days," they sang.
About 27 million of Burma's 57 million population are entitled to vote.
Nyan Win, spokesman of the opposition National League for Democracy told
The Irrawaddy that most polling stations closed at about 11 a.m. Officials
then went to the homes of people who had not voted and made them fill in
registration forms indicating they had handed in ballots that had already
been filled in with a tick.
Rangoon-based Burmese journalists said security at polling stations was
very strict. No foreign news agency correspondents or independent
journalists were allowed near.
The cheating and intimidation observed on Saturday confirmed claims by
human rights activists and western governments that the referendum would
be a sham and neither free nor fair.
The regime had used both intimidation and vote-buying to assure itself of
a "Yes" vote and would predictably resort to vote-rigging if it lost,
observers said. Widespread rumors say the results have already been fixed
to deliver an 84.6 percent vote in favor of the charter, an AP report
said.
The government has also been widely criticized for pressing on with the
referendum while the country is still reeling from the catastrophic
effects of Cyclone Nargis.
"Instead of putting all resources toward saving the lives of the victims,
the military is concentrating on legalizing military rule in Burma forever
through a sham constitutional referendum," said a joint statement from the
All Burma Monks Alliance, the 88 Generation Students and the All Burma
Federation of Student Unions.
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