Wrong ID card data meant Mon denied electoral representation

Mon politicians and civil society groups claim information on national identity cards has denied them a getting a representative into Parliament. The Mon Literature and Culture Committee (Yangon) wants corrected what they claim is the wrong ethnicity information on national identity cards and the household registration papers of Mon people in the Yangon Region.

Nai Min Thaung Shin, Chairman of the Mon Literature and Culture Committee (Yangon) spoke to Karen News.

“We will meet to discuss the incorrect ethnicity registration information issue and collect and compile a list of the people who want to change their ethnicity to what it should be.”

The Mon Literature and Culture Committee say Mon, Karen, Shan and other ethnic people are been registered under the nationality of ‘Burman’ instead of their actual ethnicity on identity cards.

Dr. Nai Banyar Aung Moe, a representative of Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) said that the incorrect ethnic information on the national identity cards meant Mon people lost their chance to choose an ethnic candidate to represent them in the Yangon Region. The required number of ethnic people needed in a constituency is 57,000 before a candidate can run in an election.

Dr. Nai Banyar Aung Moe said.

“We only received a seat for a Kayin State constituency. We should also have received a seat for the Taninthayi Region, Pegu Region and Yangon Region. But we missed out on having a qualified representative by not meeting the population number requirements.”

Dr. Nai Nanyar Aung Moe said that he believes they would have met the 57,000 number required in the Yangon Region if the Mon people living there had their household registration papers are correctly registered as ‘Mon’ instead of ‘Burman’.

The Mon Literature and Culture Committee (Yangon) plans to fixed the identity card and household registration issue by the 2015 elections.

At the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) meeting in January when a Shan MP asked if the government if they planned to correct ID cards that listed the incorrect ethnic information they were told the issue would be rectified.