[Large
populations from the minority group were unable to vote and major parties
fielded no Muslim candidates]
By Oliver Holmes
 |
Although she didn’t prioritise
Muslims in her campaign, Aung San Suu Kyi
promised to prosecute those
who inflame hatred against the minority.
Photograph: Corbis
|
No
Muslims in majority-Buddhist Myanmar were elected to parliament, final election
figures show, with all the current representatives losing their seats and new
Muslim candidates defeated in their constituencies.
Officially
making up 4% of the country’s 51 million people – although others say the
figure is much higher – Muslims found themselves a target of hatred in the lead
up to the polls.
The
hardline nationalist movement the Committee for the Protection of Race and
Religion, or Ma Ba Tha, has led rallies across the country declaring Islam a
threat to Buddhism.
The
country’s official Union Election Commission disqualified several Muslim
candidates ahead of the polls, questioning whether their parents were born in Myanmar Bangladesh
“Of
the 6,074 approved candidates, 5,130 are Buddhist, 903 Christian and just 28, or
0.5%, are Muslim, a sliver of the percentage of Muslims in the general
population,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia
director at Human Rights Watch.
“This
is only partly due to discriminatory decisions by the [commission]. The main
parties have also shown extreme bias: to stave off criticism from the racist
and Buddhist nationalist Ma Ba Tha,” she added.
The
ruling Union Solidarity and Development party ran no Muslim candidates.Aung San
Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) also bowed to pressure from
Ma Ba Tha, asking Muslims in the party not to run.
With
99% of the votes tallied, the NLD has won 390 seats, more than 80% of electable
seats in both houses. The incumbent USDP gained 41 seats.
The
largest Muslim party, the United National Congress, conceded it will not win
any seats.
The
persecution of Muslims is most prevalent in western Rakhine state, where more
than 140,000 Rohingya live in camps, forced to flee during race riots in 2012. Many
have left on boats to other south-east Asian nations but those who stay remain
stateless.
The
minority Rohingya, who voted in 2010 and the 2012 byelections, were not allowed
to vote as they were not considered full citizens. Officials allowed some
Rohingya to vote if they declared themselves as “Bengali” and not from Myanmar
Asked
before the polls about the Rohingya, Suu Kyi told journalists not to
“exaggerate” the issue.
Yet
some Muslim voters in Myanmar Yangon
“I
like Suu Kyi because I want a good leader who is respected internationally. I
don’t care if there are no Muslim candidates running for the elections,” said
Mohamed, a 70-year-old retired member of the military.
Although
Suu Kyi has not prioritised Muslim rights in her campaign, the 70-year-old has
promised to protect the minority and to prosecute those who inflame hatred.
International
election observers from the European Union said the election was “well-run” but
expressed concern over the disenfranchisement of Muslims.
“We
trust that the newly elected government will improve the democratic governance
of the country and will promote a more inclusive society by addressing the
increase in religious extremism and radical room and its impact on certain
minorities and ethnic groups, in particular Muslim citizens, and specifically
the Rohingya,” European parliament member Ana Gomes said last week.
Additional
reporting by Sara Perria in Tar Mwe
