Myanmar Election: Disenfranchised Rohingya Muslims Cry Out

Thousands of refugee Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh are decrying their disenfranchisement by the Myanmar government, as the country conducts its election.

For decades the country's rulership had rested in the hands of the military; citizens go out to vote in what is the country's second democratic election since the end of the military regime, but thousands of Rohingya Muslims will not be allowed to vote, as reported by Aljazeera.

The development has prompted the United Nations to declare the election not free and fair.

A frequent voter in the Myanmar election from 1974 to 2010, Mohammad Yusuf, who is also one of the affected Rohingya Muslims, said that his inability to participate in the elections makes him "feel really sad".

He said that it feels like they do not matter, "as though we are dead".

He said that it is important that they are able to vote in the elections, as they want their kids to have a better life, but he doesn't "have the confidence" that that will happen.

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Yusuf said, “Not being able to vote makes me feel really sad. It feels as though we are dead and we don’t matter.

“These rights are important. We want our children to become engineers and lawyers one day. But I don’t see this happening any time in the future. I don’t have the confidence. I don’t know if we will even be able to vote in 2025.”

The ongoing issue contradicts the assurance given by Myanmar's ambassador to the United Nations who said that all citizens would be allowed to vote in an election that would be free and fair.