In an age old practice the Burmese military junta backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is distributing money to people to vote during the forthcoming election, while campaigning in Kachin State, Northern Burma.

Residents in Puta-O Township in Northern Kachin State said, USDP was offering 5,000 Kyats (US$5.18) to each person to vote in the election.

Distributing money for votes by USDP has been from May 10 to 25 in N’bu Baw, N’wai Baw, Nam Hkam, Man Naw and Nambu Yang villages in Machyangbaw Town in Puta-O District, said local sources.

USDP is the only party undertaking poll campaign for the 2010 general election but local people are not interested in the party or their offer, said the source.

They are also distributing CDMA mobile and land line phone connections to civilians, while campaigning in the main townships of Kachin State.

Junta’s Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein is the Chairman of the USDP and it was formed on April 29 from the USDA with several top military officers.

The USDA had 20 million members in the country and now USDP is secretly adding names of civilians in their membership list without the knowledge of the people, said the residents.

In Waingmaw Township, USDP first organized 48 quarter leaders and influential people and then forced leaders to put down the names of all people living in their quarter in the USDP members list.

The USDP is also trying to mobilize and woo Baptist church pastors and putting their names in the members list despite their reluctance to be involved in any political activity.

Meanwhile, Kachin political parties are struggling to get approval from the Union Election Commission (UEC) to contest the election.

The Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP), which has been campaigning a lot in Kachin State, stopped campaigning over two months ago with the approval being delayed.

Local people believe the reason for the UEC denying approval to the KSPP, so far, is the tenuous links the junta believes it has with the Kachin ethnic armed group the KIO, which vehemently refuses to accept the regime’s proposal to transform its armed wing, the KIA to the Burmese Army-controlled Border Guard Force.

The junta is encouraging the former KIO splinter armed group leader Lasang Awng Wa, who split from mother KIO in 2004 and transformed to a regime controlled People Militia group in 2009, to form a political party instead of approving KSPP, said a party source.

http://www.kachinnews.com/News/USDP-offers-cash-for-votes-in-Puta-O.html