“Currently, for advanced preparation, the PSDP party is still working under the process of representatives’ selection, field survey and organizing and approaching the local civilians in order to contest the by-election. However, we have to work under a little strictly condition in currently as we have not been officially informed whether possibility of bi-election will take place or not.” Mahn Aung Pyi Soe, vice chairperson of the PSDP said in an interview with Karen News.

The four parties have been preparing to contest in spite of the fact that the government has yet to officially declare when the election will take place.

“We started to organize the committees from headquarter through state, district and village levels. The successful committees have been providing training to start the campaigns for the by-election,” Nan Khin Htwe Myint, chairperson of the NLD in Karen State, said.

Saw Htar Lone, the chairman of the Union Solidarity of Development Party (USDP) for Karen State said that, “The USDP party has already selected its candidate. However, we still want to disclose the name of the candidate. He is one of the Karen ethnicity and living in that area. He also used to serve as assistant of township education department officer. He has been nominated.”

Currently, there are six political parties in Karen state. However, two of these, the Kayin State Democracy and Development Party (KSDDP) and National Unity Party (NUP) have reported that they have no plan to compete in the coming by-election.

The by-election will take place because the representative in the constituency of No.2 Paingkyon sub-township, an MP from the PSDP, died in January this year.