The Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) has issued a stern warning to village authorities at a quarterly meeting recently in Maungdaw Township that their jobs would be at  stake if they support the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) in the ensuing election, a village leader who attended the meeting said.

The TPDC Chairman Aung Kyaw Oo convened the meeting with 70 Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) officials, at Thirimagahla Hall in Maungdaw.

Aung Kyaw Oo told 21 of the VPDC officials not to support the NDPD in the general election scheduled for November 7, said an aide in the TPDC office.

“The VPDC officials are not allowed to be involved in politics, but they fully supported the National Democratic Party for Development (NDPD) after party functionaries visited their villages,” Aung Kyaw Oo said at the meeting, according to the aide.

“You will be fired from your jobs if you support the political party in the future,” the chairman reportedly said.

A village official said it was not possible to follow Aung Kyaw Oo’s orders.

“We are not able to block the political party campaigning in our village, as the party has permission from the election commission to operate there, and we are also not able to stop our people from attending rallies,” the village official said.

“For this, if the TPDC wants to fire us it is okay with us because we cannot to do what the chairman has ordered,” he added.