Campaign Restrictions

The Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics (UMFNP) party members were intimidated during party work in Poung Kyo village in Shwe Taung Township, western Bago region on 26 August.

UMFNP’s group led by U Kyaw Kyaw Lwin were intimidated by members of the Swan Arr Shin group when they were issuing party membership cards to members, U Aye Lwin, chairman of UMFNP party, said.

According to inside networks, there were about 1,700 eligible voters in Pouk Taw Township constituency 5, Arakan State, but only about 600 of them voted. Most of them boycotted the election. Although there was not advance voting, there were about 40 advance votes when votes are counted. There were many people in Kyoung Sout village who could not vote, as they were not in voters list. The village head of A’ Lal Kyun ran away with ballot boxes, as so many people voted for RNDP instead of USDP.

A voter from Arakan State who spoke to Burma Election Tracker said:"I'm a member of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) and voted for my party. There were many biases in the election campaign. There was a prohibition to campaign in religious buildings such as: monasteries and chapels, but we could campaign in ward-chapels located away from monasteries. Campaigners were not allowed to use loudspeaker and only allowed to use a sound box, but the USDP could get around all prohibitions.

The National Democratic Force (NDF), led by former members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), has been banned from election campaigning in some parts of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, northern Burma, said sources close to party.

The NDF’s campaign in Tatkone and Shatapru, the two main quarters of the capital, was prohibited yesterday by the ruling Burmese junta’s Kachin State Administrative Office of the so-called Kachin State Peace and Development Council, the sources said.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is backed by Burma’s military, is campaigning in ethnic Kachin churches, using small donations to gain votes on November 7th, according to Kachin church sources.

On October 11, the USDP candidate, U Thein Zaw, campaigned at the Kachin Roman Catholic Church in Gat Shang Yang Village, 18 miles south of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. Church sources said he made a donation 3 million kyat (est. US$3,109) to the church.

An interesting contest is in the offing in Myitkyina, Kachin State where U Mar Khar, a NDF nominee will take on the Post and Telecommunication Minister Thein Zaw, a USDP candidate, U Aung War, a Kachin State analyst, said.

The NDF opened its party office in Yuzana ward, Myitkyina on 9 October. Two Kachin nominees of the NDF will contest from Pharkant and Myitkyina Townships. Daw Jar Bauk will contest from Pharkant Township.

Reports of intimidation and arrests in ethnic areas during Burma’s elections

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received reports of harassment, intimidation, violence and arrests in several of Burma’s ethnic states, during and immediately following the sham elections three days ago.

An organizer for the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) said election officials and candidates of the junta-backed USDP forcibly removed opposition officials from polling stations where they were to serve as monitors.

Authorities also reportedly arrested NDPD candidate Khin Maung Myint, also known as Enayet Ullah, on interfering in a polling booth to object to USDP’s rigging.

“He is still in custody in Maungdaw police station,” said an NDPD organizer.

Election Commission officials and township authorities in Maungdaw admitted today that the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) swept to victory in Sunday’s national election, according to an official at the Election Commission office.

“The NDPD won in 90 village tracts out of 105 in Maungdaw, but this has not officially been announced yet,” the official said.

“We worked very hard for the Union Solidarity and Development Party to win in northern Arakan State, but we were not successful.”