The by-election on April 1 proceeded and ended smoothly, although the voter turnout was low and there were minor incidents and misunderstandings.

Regional and local election watchdogs that monitored the polls held in 19 constituencies and 22 townships to fill vacant seats in three parliaments, said there was room for improvements.

Local observers found gaps between the Union Election Commissions (UEC) at union and regional levels.

“The regional commissions didn’t fully follow the instructions from the union, and we observed some gaps between the two.

“So there were some weaknesses in the working process,” said Shwe Yee Win from Peace and Justice Myanmar.

Peace and Justice Myanmar, Charity-Oriented Myanmar and the Hornbill Organisation jointly observed over 100 polling stations on polling day.

They also said only one third of the voters turned up at polling stations.

“There were few voters. In Shan state’s Kyine Tone township, only over 10,000 voters out of a total 56,000 voted,” Shwe Yee Win said.

Another observer group, People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) also noted the “quiet” polling day.

PACE said its observers saw “virtually no major problems” on the group.

“Generally, the election process was peaceful and stable. Thee were no major problems that disrupted the election.

“There were only some minor issues,” PACE executive director Sai Ye Kyaw Swar Myint said in a press conference yesterday.

PACE also observed weaknesses in providing information to voters.

At 25 percent of the polling stations, there were people who turned up to vote only to be told they were not on the voter list.

“There are still some weaknesses in giving people information. But the UEC has made some improvements by coming out with the polling station and voter lists,” PACE program manager Han Soe Tun said.

The UEC announced that the ruling party National League for Democracy (NLD) won nine seats while the Union and Solidarity Party won two seats.

The Shan ethnic party Shan National League for Democracy won six seats out of seven in Shan State.

The regional party All Nationals’ Democracy party won the seat in Kayah state’s Fruso township while the Arakan National Party won the seat in Ann township, Rakhine state.