Myanmar Goes To The Polls

From Leslean Arshad YANGON (Myanmar), April 2 (Bernama) -- Min Chit Ko cuddled his one-year-old baby as he walked with his wife Zin Moe Lwin to the polling station in Dayebo Village, Hlegu, on the outskirts of Yangon, as Myanmar went to the polls today. As babies are not allowed into polling stations, Min and Zin took turns to vote while taking care of the infant, Hin Yu Hlaing, as well. "No one to look after my baby, so have to bring my baby here," said Min, a farmer at a nearby village. The couple, both 21, would not want to miss the opportunity to vote in the by-elections that began across Myanmar on Sunday. "We want to vote, that's why we have come," said Min, who is voting in the Hlegu constituency, which will see a head-to-head contest between candidates from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and the National League for Democracy (NLD). There are 120 polling stations in Hlegu which has about 150,000 registered voters. The by-elections began at 6 am (7.30 am in Malaysia) on Sunday. Over 6.4 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in the 45 constituencies. Schools, primary or secondary, town halls, restaurants and even mosque compounds have been turned into polling stations. The voting centres will close at 4 pm, after which the ballots will be counted in the presence of polling officers, representatives of candidates and 10 witnesses from among members of the public. International observers, including from Malaysia, were at the polling centres to observe the voting. Thein Thein headed to the polling station in Mayangon township near her house in Yuzana Garden City at 7 am to cast her vote early. "Its better to vote early. So many things need to do later and, maybe, can rest later," she said. A fire station designated as a polling station in the Mayangon constituency registered a commanding turnout by mid-morning. More than 1,000 of the 1,909 eligible voters had cast their votes there as at 10.30 am. NLD leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is widely expected to win a parliamentary seat in Kawhmu where she is contesting. The by-elections are being closely watched to determine if the electoral process is free and fair as promised by Myanmar's Union Election Commission. --BERNAMA