"I noticed that the signboard was still intact when I passed in front of it around 8:30 AM last Thursday.  At around noon I saw that it had been destroyed,” he told Narinjara News.

The damaged signboard was located between Sittwe General Hospital and the new clock-tower in the downtown area. The APP has reported the issue to Sittwe No 1 Police Station and submitted copies of this report to the township election commission and the city development committee.

The APP kicked off its campaign in villages in Sittwe Township on September 14th and will complete the campaign in the villages over the next three or four days.

The party will continue to campaign in Sittwe after the village visits are finished.  Signboards belonging to the the Arakan National Party (ANP) and the Chin League for Democracy (CLD) were also damaged and removed in the Anauk village of Dalatchaung village tract in Ann Township, according to ANP’s Ann Township office chief U Zaw Min.  ANP’s signboard was destroyed on September 22 and the CLD’s signboard was removed by force the next day.

The incident took place after representatives of a leading party urged local residents in Dalatchaung village tract to only vote for their party and not for the ANP during a campaign event held on September 21st. This sparked a big argument between the campaigners and some villagers, leading to the vandalism of the ANP’s signboard the next day.

Village authorities then pressured the CLD to take down their signboard.

“We opened a case at the Anauk village police station of Dalatchaung village tract over the vandalism of the signboard on September 23rd. We haven’t informed the township commission yet. Transportation is quite difficult in this area,” said U Zaw Min.

A similar incident took place in Padekyaw village on the Ann to Toungup Road in February this year, where the signboards of the ANP and the CLD were also vandalized.

Translated by Thida Linn with editing by BNI staff.