The upcoming vote is viewed as a test for Aung San Suu Kyi and her party. A former supporter tells DW the reasons for his disillusionment with the electoral process. Cape Diamond and May Thingyan report from Yangon.
"I decided not to vote this time as the NLD government has been unable to satisfy me as a voter and a citizen," Ye Wai Phyo Aung told DW during an interview in Yangon.
Ye Wai Phyo Aung is the co-founder of the human rights organization Athan in Myanmar. The 25-year-old researcher and activist is known for promoting human rights values and activism. He is not excited to participate in the upcoming national elections, scheduled for November 8.
"I was even looking for an alternative option to vote but didn't find any in the area," he stressed.
In 2015, Ye Wai voted for the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of the State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi. "In 2015, I even got up at 4 a.m. to go to the polling station. Yes, I voted for the NLD candidate," said Ye Wai Phyo Aung.
"I was so excited, and it was my first-time vote. I couldn't even get enough of it [voting]. So I went to the polling station again and again together with family members when they are casting their votes," he added.
Disappointment with NLD
Ye Wai was 20 years old in 2015, and national elections seemed to him as a path towards democracy and a better future. Five years later, he is advocating for freedom of expression and campaigns for civilian supremacy in a country where the military still holds significant powers.
His organization Athan said that since the NLD took control in 2016, military lawsuits against civilian voices have increased. The Myanmar army, also known as Tatmadaw, has filed 47 lawsuits against 96 people, including 51 activists, four artists and three members of political parties
Ye Wai and many others are disappointed with the performance of the NLD and Aung San Suu Kyi. In July, six activists including the co-founder of Athan, Maung Saungkha, were charged for participating in a protest against an internet shutdown in the country's western Rakhine province.
Ye Wai Phyo Aung said authorities have been chasing the members of his organization, both online and offline. "Intelligence agencies are following us even on social media to follow our activities and collect information on us," he said.
Boycott calls
Activists in Myanmar launched an election boycott campaign in August, encouraging people to refrain from voting. The campaign rests on the premise that Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD have failed to deliver on the promises they made during the 2015 campaign.
The nation's Union Election Commission (UEC) has said that those who encourage others not to vote could be prosecuted under various sections of laws governing elections for the upper and lower houses of Parliament as well as state and regional legislatures.
"I feel like the UEC is threatening us [non-voters] and our right to freedom of expression," Ye Wai Phyo Aung said.
Aung San Suu Kyi called the boycott campaign an irresponsible act. "To say, 'I don't like this or I don't like that' and to refuse to vote is a very reckless act," she told government officials during a conference call on August 5.
