Loi-Kaw

A Shan party registered for the upcoming elections in Burma has been blocked from campaigning for votes in the country’s eastern Karenni state.

The chairman of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), Sai Ai Pao, said that Central Executive Committee members on 28 July were denied entry to Loikaw, capital of Karenni state and near the border with Shan state. The group was blocked by the regional Election Commission (EC) secretary, he added.

On election day the polling stations where diplomats were allowed to observe were crowded with voters but some polling stations, where diplomats could not reach, had very few voters. It had only police and USDP members, according to polling officers.

“Nobody seemed interested in the election. Police and the USDP members came to the polling station. Less than 100 voters came to vote at each station,” an observer from Pankan village-tract in Loikaw township said.

Less than a week to the election in Burma, internet users in Karenni State capital Loikaw have to contend with internet services being cut off frequently. Internet cafes cannot access the net easily, users said.

“Internet connection in cafes are being cut frequently and when available the speed is very slow for over a week now,” a university student in Loikaw Township, told Kantarawaddy.

The Burmese junta’s intention is to block the flow of information out of the country before the polls, hence the tampering with internet services, local sources said.

Security has been beefed up around town site gates in Loikaw as of this month amid reports that the Karenni Army (KA) and opposition groups are gearing up to oppose next month's election in Burma, according to local sources.

The Karenni National and Development Party has been opposing the election using various methods. As a result it has been threatened by the local authorities creating anxiety regarding the regions security during elections in Burma.