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.
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. About 27
million of Burma’s 57 million population are entitled to vote.
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Top UN official in Asia-Pacific joins call for
urgent access to Myanmar
9 May 2008 – Echoing calls on the Myanmar authorities to facilitate
the delivery of humanitarian aid in the wake of the deadly cyclone
which has left some 1.5 million people in need, the top United
Nations official in the region today urged the Government to act
quickly to avert an even worse tragedy.
“The situation is getting critical and there is only a small window
of opportunity if we are to avert the spread of diseases that could
multiply the already tragic number of casualties,” said Noeleen
Heyzer,Executive Secretary of the UN Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)