reasons 55. Additionally, partial cancellations were also announced in four townships of Rakhine state, 17 townships of Shan state, 11 townships of Kachin state, six townships of Kayin state, one township of Mon state, and two townships of Bago region. Altogether, the poll cancellations announced by the UEC affected a larger portion of the territory than during the 2015 general elections 56, a reflection of the resurgence of armed conflicts in recent years, especially in Rakhine state. It is estimated that over 1.5 million people, including 1.2 million in Rakhine (73% of the state’s eligible voters) will be disenfranchised as a result. Technically, the polls were postponed because conditions for free and fair elections were not met at the time, and by-elections could be held later during the term to fill vacant seats. However, in townships where polling was only partially cancelled, the remaining eligible voters would alone choose their members of Parliament, thus reducing the legitimacy of these elected officials. This list of poll cancellations was met with widespread criticism from civil society organizations and political parties alike. In themselves, cancellations of the polls were not unexpected. Significant areas of Myanmar’s periphery remain active conflict zones, while others are under the effective control of ethnic armed groups and militias. However, many stakeholders interviewed by ANFREL or media organizations were surprised by the extent of the areas affected, as well as the seemingly inconsistent criteria used by the UEC. The Executive Director of the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, U Min Zaw Oo, thus declared that “the Union Election Commission’s procedures to cancel elections in conflict-affected constituencies [were] not transparent or consistent 57”. Five ethnic political parties, the Kachin State People’s Party (KSPP), Kayah State Democratic Party (KySDP), Karen National Democratic Party (KNDP), Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), and Mon Unity Party (MUP), issued a joint statement on 18 October requesting the UEC to reconsider its decision. They further alleged that some of the affected areas were constituencies where the NLD would be unlikely to win, and that the decision to postpone the polls was politically motivated 58. In Rakhine, most of the nine townships that saw their polls cancelled had elected MPs from the Arakan National Party (ANP) in 2015, while the NLD won in three of the four townships that went unaffected. According to Pyithu Hluttaw Arakan Front Party (AFP) candidate Daw Ma Tin Nyunt, “There are neither natural disasters nor fighting in Pauktaw township. It is totally peaceful now 59.” Both the AFP and ANP submitted letters to the Rakhine election sub-commission requesting a review of the poll cancellation order. In southern Shan state, four political parties sent a petition of over 10,000 signatures to the UEC in an attempt to have the elections proceed in Mongkaing township, which they consider calm and peaceful 60. The area is incidentally a stronghold of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), which also requested the holding of the elections in some cancelled constituencies in Muse, Lashio and Kyaukme districts, most of which were won by the SNLD in 2015. 55 The 15 townships are, in Rakhine state: Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung; in Shan state: Mongkaing, Mongla, Mongmao, Narphan, Pangsang, and Pangwaun. 56 The 16 October 2020 announcements listed a total of 15 townships and 581 wards/village tracts, whereas five townships and 403 wards/village tracts saw polling cancelled in 2015. 57 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/28/vote-cancellations-trigger-outrage-among-myanmar-minority-voters 58 https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/kysdp-says-no-justice-declaration-some-constituencies-where-elections-couldnot-be-held 59 https://www.bnionline.net/en/news/parliamentary-candidates-call-uec-reconsidering-pauktaw-township-polls 60 https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/parties-protest-cancelation-of-vote-in-mong-kung 26