Myanmar acknowledged on Wednesday that authorities lack the necessary means to ensure security in the state of Kachin and decided to postpone the parliamentary elections for April 1.
There is much uncertainty and aggressiveness; that is why, we cannot offer guarantees and the elections in Kachin will be postponed until further notice, the Election Commission said.
The situation in that state is too unstable, and the vote will not take place until violence stops, emphasized the press release, published in Myanmar’s newspaper New Light.
Earlier this week, Myanmar authorized the presence of international observers in the partial elections.
A report from the Channel News Asia noted that representatives of United Nations, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States may be accompanied by reporters four days before the election of 48 seats.
The ASEAN said in a statement that it was authorized to send a team of five observers to the elections: two parliamentarians and three journalists from each of the ten members of the regional body.
The bloc is made up of Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The last parliamentary elections in Myanmar were held on November 7, 2010, and the then ruling military junta banned the presence of international observers.
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