27 November

The third batch of the “Training to Enhance Electoral Capacity” for the 2020 General Election was held at the Grand Amara Hotel in Nay Pyi Taw yesterday.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day training, UEC Chairman U Hla Thein said it was the third batch of the training. The first batch with 104 trainees and the second batch with 93 students have been successfully held.

The commission is working to ensure the 2020 General Election are condcuted in accordance with the five norms of being free, fair, transparent, credible and reflecting the will of the people, he added.

The UEC Chairman then spoke about the needs of higher quality and capacity for the chairpersons and members of the sub-commissions and staff, so that they may perform their tasks better and in accordance with laws, bylaws and regulations.

The course comprises of ten chapters that are important for the election process. While the compilation of the nationwide primary voters’ list is completed, ensuring it is always accurate and comprehensive requires updating the list regularly in accordance with its work procedures.

As there is only about a year remaining to hold the 2020 General Elections, there are continuous tasks to be done. If the tasks are performed in a punctual manner, the whole process will be much smoother, said the chairman.

U Hla Thein also urged the trainees to systematically learn the lessons as it is a training trainers course, and note their practical experiences and knowledge to later redeliver the lessons they learned without difficulties to the election sub-commissions and members of polling stations in their local places.

Afterwards, Mr Manfred Berhard, the Programme Manager of International IDEA, delivered a few remarks. The first day of the course then commenced after commemorative photos had been taken. A total of 98 trainees from the region/state, district and township level sub-commissions attended the first day of the training jointly organized by Union Election Commission (UEC) and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA).

Also present at the opening event were UEC members and officials from the UEC office, officials from the International IDEA. — MNA (Translated by Kyaw Zin Tun)