First year

The Pyithu Hluttaw Election Law 2010

43. Eligible voters, except the voters who cast with advance ballot paper, shall proceed to the respective polling booth and draw the ballot paper personally, express their wish secretly on it and cast it into the respective ballot box and not by proxy.

47. (a) The Commission shall make arrangements to enable the diplomats of the Union of Myanmar and members of their household, diplomatic staff and members of their household, State scholars and members of their household, delegates and members of their household, who are outside the country at the time of holding election and those who are outside the country with the permission of the Union government and members of their household at the time of holding election to vote in advance for their respective constituency.

(b) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall take the responsibility of communicating with those who are outside the country and who have the right to vote so as to enable them to vote in advance.

The significance of Myanmar’s 2010 election

“The elections had quite an ambitious goal of allowing all voters either 3 or 4 votes (for three assemblies plus voting in for extra seat, depending on whether voters had an additional vote as a member of a significant minority group for which there were reserved seats in the assemblies). Arrangements also included early voting, absentee voting, and overseas voting by Myanmar citizens, most of which had also been implemented in earlier elections, but these all involved a great deal of preparation and implementation.”

In 2010 external voting was allowed for Legislative Elections