Ethnic parties in Kayah State say they face difficulties in campaigning alongside their opponents from the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) according to party representatives. During a public meeting last week in Loikaw, the Kayah state capital, representatives from several such ethnic parties voiced their concerns about their struggles. U Phoe Reh, Chairman of the All Nationalities Democracy Party (ANDP) noted that pamphlets from the ruling USDP were recently handed out during a public meeting called by a ward administrator to discuss issues affecting Ruphekhu Ward in Demoso Township on September 15th.
He also said that USDP representatives had been carrying out campaign activities at the end of parent-teacher conferences in some run government schools.
"These things shouldn’t happen. The ward administrators shouldn’t invite only one party. They should invite parties like ours. It seems like they are being biased,” said U Phoe Reh.
Representatives from Kayah's states smaller parities have also publicly complained about some of the campaign tactics employed by U Aung Min and U Soe Thane, two ministers from the outgoing government's cabinet of President Thein Sein. This has included giving out satellite TV sets and having large numbers of ostensibly volunteer civil servants campaign on their behalf in Kayah state, where neither of the two high profile Thein Sein loyalists are actually from.
Daw Sophania, a female candidate from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), who is competing for a seat in Demoso Township also said a general lack of public interest in politics hinders campaigning.
Translated by Thida Linn with editing by BNI staff.
