Residents of Inle lake and surrounding district in Shan State has rejected the Inn National League Party, that has just registered under the Military Council as another Shan party with the Union Election Commission, for not representing their lakeside community.

As of March 31, the Union Election Commission (UEC) announced that there are eight registered political parties in Shan State. However according to political activists and residents of Inle, the Inn National League Party is not representative of the people of the Inn or the Inle district and is a proxy party for the military.

Daw Yu Hlaing Thin, the founder of the Justice Movement for Community-Inlay organization, said, "In my opinion, the Inn party cannot represent the Innthar people at all. They formed a small group and followed the military orders. Even within the party, there are people who exploit and abuse the Innthars. The Innthar people do not recognize them as their representatives, as they only represent themselves.”

She further stated that the Military Council has appointed U Aung Kyi Win, the former president of the Inn National League Party, as the Shan State Ethnic Affairs Minister and tasked him with arranging Pyu Saw Htee (People's Militia) that functions as under the regional army military command.

“U Aung Kyi Win’s right-hand man, Nyi Nyi Tun (aka Po Tha Htoo) has organized many

Pyu Saw Htee in the Inle region. Soldiers and police often raid and arrest people in the Inle region. They are also violent against women. These abuses are carried out by a mixture of military council, PNO and local Pyu Saw Htee together. It is not easy for them to enter the Inle region. Local Pyu Saw Htee brought them in and they are doing this kind of injustice and abuse. If they get more control, it will only get worse,” she said.

Until recently, there were only two political parties in the Inle region, namely the Inn National Development Party and the Inn National League Party. However, on March 24, the Inn National Development Party dissolved to merge with the Inn National League Party. Despite this development, a local woman expressed skepticism, stating that both parties are subservient to the Military Council and that their collaboration does not accurately reflect the opinions and interests of the Inle community.

“ I believe that these parties can only represent their own supporters, and it’s likely that only their die-hard fans will continue to support them. Their loyal base is estimated to be around 20% of the overall population in the Inn region,"  said the local woman.

The Inn National League Party emerged on April 26, 2019, after internal disputes among officials of the former Inn National Development Party. Neither of these parties has ever secured a representative seat in the elections. However, the recent formation and arming of Pyu Saw Htee, coupled with violent incidents, have raised concerns among the local populace.

The local woman added, “They claim that neither the People’s Defense Force nor the military should enter the area. However, when the military or the PNO do arrive, they accept their presence. These individuals also refer to themselves as Pyu Saw Htee, relying on weapons and behaving with impunity. It seems as though they believe that their weapons, rather than the law, are the ultimate authority.”

In the Inle region, the only party that won the election by advance vote in 2010 was the Inn National League Party, and that party was later reorganized into the Inn National Development Party on March 29, 2019.

The National Unity Government (NUG) has stated that the registration of political parties to the Union Election Commission (UEC) under the Military Council is not in line with the will of the people. This is because the electoral law enacted by the Military Council is considered invalid. The statement also asserts that such registration may encourage the

Military Council to continue committing violence against the public.