“It’s true that my signboard has been destroyed. It was destroyed on October 23. I have reported this to the police and the election commission,” U Aung Mya Kyaw told the BNI Newsroom.

Reached for comment the Township Election Commission’s chairman and Sittwe No. 1 Police Station have replied that they have not received yet any reports relating to the destruction of the signboard.

When U Aung Mya Kyaw was contacted again, he clarified that he had not actually got around to filing a written report. “I haven’t reported the case with a letter. I have only called the police chief and reported it. I also haven’t reported this to the Township Election Commission with a letter,” he said.

U Aung Mya Kyaw’s signboard had been located near May Yu Market in Sittwe. His sign was not the only to come under attack. A signboard belonging to the Rakhine Patriot Party was also damaged in Sittwe on September 24.

Many independent candidates and parties have has also had their signboards damaged but few have followed through and filled written complains because doing so is time consuming and finding the culprits will be difficult.

“There have been four or five incidents of signboards being destroyed in Arakan State. Not only the signboards of independent candidates, but also those from the USDP, NLD, ANP, and APP have been destroyed. Some reported the incidents while some haven't. The important thing is to open a case at the police station. The police will arrest the perpetrators if there is evidence” said U Thurein Htut, an officer with the Arakan State Election Commission office.

In other parts of the country political party signs have also been damaged or destroyed. During a recent campaign rally for the National League for Democracy (NLD) a candidate in Yangon Region was attacked and seriously injured by a man yielding a sword. U Nai Ngan Linn survived his attack but remains in hospital.