Government
China pledges support for next Myanmar government regardless of winner
China will support the new government that emerges from next month’s elections in Myanmar no matter which party wins, senior officials told The Myanmar Times in Beijing. During an interview at a media forum in the Chinese capital last week, Sun Haiyan, director general of the ...
Ex-ruling party chair says USDP unlikely to win November poll
Speaking to reporters on the campaign trail in Pegu Division’s Phyu on 25 October, former ruling party chairman Shwe Mann has admitted the party will likely struggle in the upcoming general election. With 25 percent of seats in Myanmar’s legislature reserved for military appointees, the USDP needs ...
Thai expats to register online to vote
Expat Thais will be able to register to vote online in the next general election, a move which could boost overseas voter turnout, the Election Commission said on 22 October. Keep reading ...
ASEAN chokes on haze crisis
ASEAN leaders must seek an opportunity from the worsening haze crisis to tackle the problem at its roots and show the way to sustainable development. The smoke haze and accompanying pollutants that have blanketed several countries in the region is primarily caused by the burning of forest ...
Fighting raises vote doubt in Shan State
Election officials in central Shan State have called for the postponement of voting in two townships because of continued fighting between government forces and an ethnic armed group that has displaced at least 3000 civilians. Keep reading ...
Cambodia's budget figures released
Cambodia’s Council of Ministers on 21 October approved its 2016 budget, which will increase 16.1 per cent from last year to $4.3 billion, with education set to get another significant injection of funds and the Labour Ministry also receiving a sizeable boost. The draft budget, which now must ...
Vietnam, Cambodia set to join regional anti-drug operation
Vietnam and Cambodia have indicated they plan to join the “Safe Mekong” anti-drug operation which aims to stem the flow of illegal narcotics in the lower Mekong region, a senior official in the field has stated. Chairman of the Lao National Commission for Drug Control and ...
ASEAN to prioritize eradication of illegal arms trade
The illicit trade of arms is the main trigger of transnational crimes that must be addressed, according to Ministry of Interior of Senior Official Meetings on Transnational Crimes (SOMTC) leader of the Kingdom of Cambodia HE Lapresse Sieng. Keep reading ...
Advanced voting prompts confusion
Election day is 8 November for most of Myanmar’s 32 million eligible voters, but advance voting – an extremely contentious issue in the 2010 polls – has already begun in some parts of the country. All states and regions have received their ballot papers, each carrying ...
Around 4 million voters shut out of Myanmar's election
When Myanmar votes next month in what has been billed as its first free and fair election in 25 years, Tun Lin, and around 4 million of his fellow citizens, won’t be taking part. Most, like the 33-year-old fisherman, are working overseas and have been unable to ...
