Training for trainers: UEC Chairman delivered opening speech

On March 24, the Union Election Commission held an opening ceremony for a training course on the operation of the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine (MEVM) for the multi-party democracy General election that will be conducted, at the extended hall of UEC in Nay Pyi Taw.

During the event, UEC Chairman U Ko Ko, delivered an opening speech in which he mentioned that in past elections, voters faced issues such as improper marking with pens and the use of stamps to cast their votes. He also discussed discrepancies in voter lists, voter list inflation, and incidents of electoral fraud that occurred during the 2020 general election. To address these issues, the Commission moved from a traditional paper ballot system vulnerable to fraud to a more secure electronic voting system.

The Commission, alongside skilled technicians from within the country, has developed a design for the Myanmar Electronic Voting Machine that is suitable for Myanmar. Through practical trial voting conducted with MEVM machines, feedback was received and improvements were made to enhance not only system integrity but also safety, voter confidence, resilience, and quality etc.

The training will cover the construction methods of the MEVM, machine installation, trial voting procedures, distribution methods, setup of voting machines on election day, vote counting processes, and compiling results in accordance with regulations.

It has been reported that 67 participants from various sub commissions of UEC, local election commission offices in the Magway and Ayeyarwady Regions, attended the opening ceremony. The training course will take place from March 24 to 26.