Special police deputized to guard polling stations in Karenni State

Special police deputized to guard polling stations in Karenni State
by -
Kantarawaddy Times

Phyo Wai Aung, Kantarawaddy Times — A total of 193 special police officers have been appointed to guard polling stations in Karenni State during the upcoming election. A ceremony was held in Loikaw, the Karenni State capital on Monday, to mark the beginning of a 12 day training course for the newly appointed police.

During the ceremony Police Captain Than Tun Win from the Loikaw District Police Force explained that Karenni State will have 229 polling stations and one special police officer will be stationed at every polling station. Currently there are not enough state police officers so special police officers have been appointed, he added.

“We need one police officer per polling station so a special police officer is being appointed per polling station. There is a gap between the population and manpower. The ratio is 1 to 500. What I mean to say is that there’s only one police officer for every 500 people. So, it’s not balanced,” he said.

Although there are nearly 500 police officers in the Karenni State, the state has 270,000 eligible voters and therefore special police officers have been appointed to fill the gap. Based on the number of polling stations in each township, a special police officer will be appointed to take charge of security at each polling station and the state police officers will be assigned to other things like the transport of ballot boxes.

Non-partisans people and firefighters have been selected for the special police. Although the special police have been appointed for the election, they did not have duty on the day of advanced voting and will only be given assignment on November 8th.

The special police have been appointed from October 15th to November 13th and those interested in becoming police officers will be appointed as police officers.

The special police officers will be trained by 14 trainers and the training course covers the subjects of basic military parades as well as other issues such as laws and bylaws the police officers must follow.

The special police officers will be undergoing their training at the Loikaw Sasana Beikman until October 31st.

January 6, 2016
“The instruction has been issued for all states and regions. [The NLD] has already told [its...
December 24, 2015
“A total of 133 candidates registered for the election. Among them, only 123 candidates...
December 14, 2015
Social Service and Development Department’s Director Sayarma Naw Lee Myar said the...
December 14, 2015
“As the NLD has won, I believe the country will shift to a developed state. I believe that...