Maungdaw, Arakan State: Maungdaw residents are concerned that polling stations will not be adequately equipped to process votes in time for the November 7 elections, said a politician from Maungdaw.

The Election Commission office in Maungdaw has increased the number of voters in polling stations where it is not possible to process in time, the politician said.

The Election Commission office has not set up polling stations according to the number of voters, which will prevent them from casting their votes, the politician said.

Meanwhile, tension continues to rise between competing parties in Arakan State.

An election watchdog group in Maungdaw said that the election commissioner has taken great efforts to enforce restrictions on campaigning following friction between the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) and the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

“The commissioner told the two parties that they must secure permission whenever they want to hold a campaign event. But the USDP hasn’t been getting permission for their events,” the watchdog group said.

An NDPD official denied reports that the party has used religious buildings for campaign purposes and tried to obstruct other campaigns.

“It’s not true. We are not using religious buildings, and we’ve never tried to put up road blocks against other campaigners,” an NDPD organizer said.

“When we campaign, we set up chairs for those attending and allow people to ask us questions about whatever they want without ever denying them an answer,” he added.

Villagers in Maungni welcomed a candidate from the NDPD and set up a stage for a campaign event that only blocked the road to automobile traffic, said a student who attended the meeting.

Sources in Maungdaw say that more former politicians from the 1990 election have thrown their weight behind the NDPD.