Myanmar Releases Final Candidate List, Dozens Disqualified

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Myanmar Releases Final Candidate List, Dozens Disqualified

YANGON— Myanmar has released its final list of candidates for the upcoming general election, with more than 6,000 people running for positions in the national parliament and regional legislatures.

However, at least 75 independent or opposition party candidates have been disqualified, many because of the citizenship status of their parents.

Among them are about 15 of 18 candidates from the Democracy and Human Rights Party, a Muslim majority party whose candidates tried to run in the Rakhine state constituencies.

A Rohingya member of parliament who was disqualified from running for re-election last week told a U.S. congressional hearing that Myanmar is stripping Muslims and other minorities of their rights in the democratic process.

“Including me, my colleagues, Rohingya candidates and all Muslims are rejected to contest in the election," he said. "Since we all, the whole group, lost our chance to contest the election as over 1 million people from our state are not allowed to vote, too, the international community [should be] concerned whether the elections would be free and fair."

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