YANGON (AFP) — Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party said Friday that Myanmar's ruling generals were doing everything in their power to force a 'Yes' vote at a referendum on their proposed constitution next month.
The junta says approval of the charter in the May 10 vote will usher in multiparty elections in 2010, but pro-democracy activists say it simply entrenches the role of the military which has ruled since 1962.
In a detailed statement attacking the charter and the process by which the generals are trying to get it approved, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said the vote would fall well below international standards.
"The authorities are trying every way to make this referendum not free and fair," said a statement from the NLD, which is headed by detained Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
"For the people who have the right to vote, we would like to encourage again all voters to go to the polling booths and make an 'X' ('No') mark without fear."
The NLD and other pro-democracy groups in Myanmar have already publicly called on people to vote "No" on May 10.
The NLD said Friday that the polling process was open to vote fraud, citing a lack of transparency in the ballot count and the lack of a provision holding vote officials to account for any wrongdoing.
It said full details of the constitution were not given on state TV and press, people did not have enough time to study the 194-page law -- which was only released on April 9 -- and it had not been widely distributed.
France said Friday it hoped the referendum would be held under clear and transparent conditions.
"It is good that there is an election" but "it should be held under transparent, clear and democratic conditions," Human Rights Minister Rama Yade said during a visit to Cambodia.
While the junta's English-language newspaper the New Light of Myanmar extols the charter in bold headlines, the NLD said its organisers had been harassed, arrested and interrogated while trying to campaign against the constitution.
"From studying it, the referendum law and related procedures, we found there is no freedom and justice from the beginning," it said.
The proposed constitution reserves one quarter of seats in both chambers of parliament for military members, while some key ministries including home affairs would also be controlled exclusively by the army.
Aung San Suu Kyi would be barred from running for president under the new constitution because she was married to a foreigner.
While the constitution needs a simple majority to be approved, amendments must be approved by 75 percent of parliament, making it difficult for civilian lawmakers to pass amendments without military support.
The referendum will be the first balloting in Myanmar since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide victory that was never recognised by the junta.
She has spent 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest or in prison.
The junta says approval of the charter in the May 10 vote will usher in multiparty elections in 2010, but pro-democracy activists say it simply entrenches the role of the military which has ruled since 1962.
In a detailed statement attacking the charter and the process by which the generals are trying to get it approved, the National League for Democracy (NLD) said the vote would fall well below international standards.
"The authorities are trying every way to make this referendum not free and fair," said a statement from the NLD, which is headed by detained Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
"For the people who have the right to vote, we would like to encourage again all voters to go to the polling booths and make an 'X' ('No') mark without fear."
The NLD and other pro-democracy groups in Myanmar have already publicly called on people to vote "No" on May 10.
The NLD said Friday that the polling process was open to vote fraud, citing a lack of transparency in the ballot count and the lack of a provision holding vote officials to account for any wrongdoing.
It said full details of the constitution were not given on state TV and press, people did not have enough time to study the 194-page law -- which was only released on April 9 -- and it had not been widely distributed.
France said Friday it hoped the referendum would be held under clear and transparent conditions.
"It is good that there is an election" but "it should be held under transparent, clear and democratic conditions," Human Rights Minister Rama Yade said during a visit to Cambodia.
While the junta's English-language newspaper the New Light of Myanmar extols the charter in bold headlines, the NLD said its organisers had been harassed, arrested and interrogated while trying to campaign against the constitution.
"From studying it, the referendum law and related procedures, we found there is no freedom and justice from the beginning," it said.
The proposed constitution reserves one quarter of seats in both chambers of parliament for military members, while some key ministries including home affairs would also be controlled exclusively by the army.
Aung San Suu Kyi would be barred from running for president under the new constitution because she was married to a foreigner.
While the constitution needs a simple majority to be approved, amendments must be approved by 75 percent of parliament, making it difficult for civilian lawmakers to pass amendments without military support.
The referendum will be the first balloting in Myanmar since 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide victory that was never recognised by the junta.
She has spent 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest or in prison.
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