Sai Aung Myo Lwin — BNI Newsroom interviewed U Win Naing, a Lower House candidate from the National League for Democracy (NLD) who is running in Mogaung Township, Kachin State.
Q: The election has arrived and the campaign has reached its last days so what kind of difficulties are you facing now?
A: Our main challenge was difficulties communicating with the Election Commission before the election period and until now (Nov. 5).
Q: Can you explain this communication problem with the commission in details?
A: The main issue was concerning advanced voting. When the [Burmese] army gave advanced votes our party wasn’t informed. Another thing is the assignment of polling station observation representatives. Two polling station representatives are allowed per polling station according to the commission’s law, but they told us to assign only one polling station representative saying there were already too many representatives. There’s also an issue with distribution of voter registration cards by ward commission and the township commission. They have collected a statistics on a national scale; it’s inconvenient for the public that aren’t even interested in the voter list to take them out at this commission office. Are they trying to make it difficult for the voters or the political parties and the democratic supporters?
Q: Are there any worries regarding the preparation of polling station and preparations carried out by the commission to allow people to vote?
A: I’m really worried the most about the big polling stations. Some polling stations in populated areas have around 3,000 voters. Theirs is only one polling station, so how will they cast their ballots? If a person takes one minute to vote, only 600 people would be able to vote, but some big polling stations have announced they have 3,000 voters on their list. How can they vote properly? How will they fully obtain the voting rights for everyone? According to the commission’s law, people who have arrived at the polling stations before the closing time at 4 pm can still vote. But how will they provide security for thousands of people at night? How patience will these voters be? This is something to worry about. We still haven’t able to negotiate these issues so far.
Q: The NLD has been attacked and threatened in some areas. Have you received such kind of experiences in your area?
A: There isn’t anything like this here. Frankly speaking, everyone knows each other in our area. So, I believe there won’t be any troubles in this area; we haven’t received any disturbances so far.
Q: Have you been treated unfairly or faced restrictions running against other parties like giving preference to certain parties for venues?
A: As for being treated unfairly, before we hold rallies in religious buildings like public monasteries, community halls, and churches we always respect the commission’s law and ask for permission from the trustee boards and committees. We always ask for permission first, but they don’t ask for permission to hold rallies. They (other parties) said they don’t need to ask for permission. So, does the commission forgive us if we don’t ask for permission? Are actions being taken against them for not asking for permission? These are the things we need to evaluate after the election; we can’t talk about them now. But we support democracy so I would like to say that we are an organization that fully abides by rules and regulations that have been set in this election.
Q: Do you believe this election will be fair?
A: This is a bit difficult because we are like ‘a young sparrow that has once been hit by a pallet’. We have continuously supported the NLD since 1990. Now, our NLD is running in the election. We can’t estimate whether a blind eye’s be turned against the public’s desire like it was back in 1990. We believe this issue is the one our party leaders have to consider. But, I think there has been unfairness with the selection of the stamping system as the voters won’t be able to vote. I think it’s unfair to keep having errors after so many errors on the voter list: it hasn’t been fair from the start.
Q: If there is fairness, what is your expectation on your winning ratio in this township?
A: The election is drawing very close. This is the last village where we are campaigning in. We’ve been to many areas. We are happy with the wide support we received from voters that want a change. So, we expect the winning rate to be between 65 and 70 percent.
Q: What else would you like to say?
A: As I’ve said, everyone wants to change. If the commission carry out the public’s desire fairly and correctly then our future will be beautiful; the country’s future will be beautiful. Our party has faced many difficulties since it was established in 1988; I hope it will be all worth it.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by BNI staff
