Dateline Irrawaddy: A discussion on the USDP and NLD campaigns

Socio-political talk show, Dateline Irrawaddy, discusses the varying campaign strategies of the ruling party and the opposition. The opposition NLD has claimed that it will ensure equal rights for all nationalities and religions in the predominantly Buddhist country if it wins.

The pledge came following a declaration by prominent monk Wirathu of the Ma Ba Tha nationalist Buddhist group, who said that the group will endorse the ruling USDP.

Hardline Monks Claim Victory as Myanmar Muslims Face Poll Exclusion

The aforementioned hardline group Ma Ba Tha recently publicly celebrated the passing of four controversial “Protection of Race and Religion Laws” purporting to protect the Buddhist religion.

This raised fears about the intermingling of religion with politics before the elections in a country that has suffered major inter-religious violence in recent years.

Voter List Errors

The NLD has criticized the Union Election Commission (UEC) for the many existing errors on voter lists, including the names of deceased persons, omissions of current voters, and incorrect birth dates, names and national registration numbers, fearing that these could hurt its chance for victory in the elections.

Earlier this year, Dateline Irrawaddy conducted a video interview with U Tin Aye, Chairman of the UEC on the credibility of the polls this year. But if the above videos are any indicators to go by, it seems that Myanmar’s road to democracy remains a long and difficult journey.

Watch weekly video updates on Myanmar’s election here.