Overseas Myanmar Nationals Spurn Junta’s Advance-Voting Push

As the Myanmar junta’s Union Election Commission (UEC) gears up to hold a general election in late December, it has urged Myanmar nationals living overseas to contact relevant Myanmar embassies in order to participate in advance voting.

However, across South Korea, Thailand, Laos, Japan and Singapore, members of the Myanmar diaspora are refusing to participate in a process they denounce as illegitimate.

The UEC announced last week that to cast votes in advance, Myanmar citizens abroad must submit their personal information, including both domestic and overseas addresses and a copy of their passport, to their respective embassies between Aug. 22 and Sept. 8.