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Turkey on Tuesday regretted the disenfranchisement of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority in national elections on Sunday.
Noting that the general elections constitute “an important milestone” in Myanmar’s democracy and reform process, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: “However, the disenfranchisement of Rohingya Muslims and the rejection of the candidacies of many Muslims indicate a serious deficiency in terms of the inclusion of the elections. “
“We want the new government to take steps to rectify these deficiencies and ensure the strengthening of democratic institutions, as well as democratic principles and practices, including unhindered representation,” the statement added.
The Southeast Asian nation of 54 million held general elections on Sunday, the second time since the 50-year military rule ended in 2011.
A total of 5,643 candidates representing more than 90 political parties competed for 1,171 national, state and regional seats.
Earlier Tuesday, Myanmar’s State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi’s party claimed that it had secured a landslide victory in Sunday’s elections.
The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party said it has so far won 392 seats in the 642-member national legislature.
The Union Election Commission is expected to announce the official results at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi has been criticized for turning a blind eye to the genocide of the Rohingya minority in the western state of Rakhine by the military.
Along with the Rohingya, who were denied the right to vote before the 2015 elections, voting was also canceled in many of the states, including Rakhine, Shan and Kachin due to “security concerns.”
More than 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh in 2016 and 2017 when the army unleashed a series of atrocities that led to the burning of entire villages, extrajudicial killings and rapes.
The UN has called it a campaign that had “genocidal intent.”
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the most persecuted people in the world, have faced heightened fears of attack since scores of people were killed in community violence in 2012.
Ankara has always been among the most vocal supporters in the community, repeatedly drawing attention to its plight. Turkish charities joined forces after the mass displacement of Rohingya Muslims in 2017 and quickly collected millions of lira to set up a humanitarian aid lifeline to camps in Bangladesh.
The Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management Authority (AFAD), the Turkish Red Crescent and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) are at the forefront of shelter and relief efforts for the displaced.
