As if the precursor to the general elections happening next year, the census of 2024 was met with terrorist activities in some townships, albeit being conducted on a limited scale, region wise.
The 2024 enumeration process for the population and household census began on October 1 of this year, conducted by audit and enumeration teams, comprising mainly of teachers under Ministry of Education, across various regions and states. This process aims to gather data that will help formulate and implement policies and projects to ensure balanced development in the social, economic, and management sectors based on the population figures obtained from the census.
Extensive questionnaire was used using iPad-like machines, census personnel asking questions from the number of toilets to animals you got in your household. Due to the limited coverage of the census, security issues as well as the sole conductor performing the task per household, the data collected would not be as comprehensive or reliable as the 2015 census completed ten years ago.
Security issues came to light again when the NNCP terrorists who oppose the census used various methods to disrupt and prevent individuals from engaging in the process. On October 6, the terrorists abducted seven auditors and enumerators living in Launglon Township, Taninthayi Region from their homes after they returned from their enumeration work in Dawei Township. Six of them were primary school teachers and one is from ward administration office. Similarly, on the afternoon of 4 October, terrorists arrested a 65 years old village elder who was assisting with census collection activities in Tiddim Township, Chin State, as he was on his way home.
The government can now extrapolate the high possibility of disruption in the upcoming general election through violence, perpetuated by those groups above, who claimed to have wanted a democratic Myanmar yet terrorises the process that would take the country back to a democratic environment.
