“We must stand on the side of the state. We must give our support to have a free and fair election. We must stand neutral. We have no right to tell people to vote for which [candidate] and which party,” said Police Colonel Thaung Win.

The opening ceremony was held at the General Administration Office Hall in Ye town on Tuesday morning and 110 special police officers selected from Ye, Lamai and Khawzar towns and Kyaungywar, Hnit Kayin, and Mawkanin villages.  Local officials also attended the ceremony.

The training course began on October 20th and will continue until October 30 and will be given at Shwekyaung Monastery in Ye town.

A total of 110 special police officers have been appointed to guard 110 polling stations in Ye Township during the upcoming election. Among them, 43 officers are members of voluntary fire brigade.

The Police Colonel explained that the special police officers were selected by the scrutiny board based on their educational qualification and other criteria including whether they were local residents, language competence and knowledge of local customs. They also were appointed on the recommendation from their respective ward and village administrators.

Myanmar Police Force announced last month that around ten thousand Special Police officers needed to be appointed due to a lack of police manpower in order to guard the polling stations and prevent malpractice at the voting booths.

The special police officers have to serve from October 15 to November 13. Each officer will receive a total of 150,000 kyats - 120,000 kyats for their salary and 30,000 kyats as a stipend.

During a meeting on election security held in Mawlamyaing on September 3, Mon State Police chief Bo Bo Oo have said that 50 out of 110 polling stations in Ye Township are included on the list of polling stations where there is possibility of sudden conflict.

Translated by Thida Linn with editing by BNI