Hidden cameras filming for SBS's Dateline have revealed evidence of vote rigging in Burma, ahead of the country's election on 7th November.
The exclusive pictures and interviews were gathered by the Democratic Voice of Burma, as foreign journalists are banned from entering the country.
They provide evidence of strict controls and surveillance of political parties and meetings, as well as punishment for anyone speaking out in opposition, which experts say will ensure the military stays in power, as it has done for 50 years.
Electoral rigging
“Our activities are monitored,” Democratic Party Chairman U Thu Wai tells a DVB hidden camera. “There are many restrictions on our activities. In the towns and villages we cannot form a party, we cannot erect sign boards anywhere except at our office, and when we go electioneering there are restrictions such as no slogans or signs.”
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“It's illegal to criticise the elections, most of the opposition members are either excluded by election laws or in prison.” David Matheson from Human Rights Watch tells reporter Evan Williams on tonight's program. “It's quite an astonishing, sophisticated electoral rigging process.”
The military has formed its own political party, fielding more than 1,000 candidates, and has rewritten the constitution to guarantee it at least a quarter of all parliamentary seats.
Vote boycott
The party of well-known opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, is boycotting the vote, as it was only allowed to field candidates if it expelled her and other party members.
World leaders have described the elections as a 'sham', 'deeply flawed' and 'lacking credibility', but the Burmese military wants the world to believe the election is truly democratic.
And some small parties are persevering… “As a politician I believe that we can change the system through this small opening,” says candidate Cho Cho Nyein.
Human rights groups like Amnesty International are even distributing radios within Burma so that people can hear broadcasts about the election from outside the country's state-controlled media.
Read more about the story on the Dateline website and watch Evan's report tonight at 8.30pm on SBS ONE.
