Prime Minister General Thein Sein on a visit to Chin state confirmed that the general elections in Burma will be held by the end of this year. However, he did not mention the date.

He arrived on February 2 in Hakha town, and addressed the people in Hakha Town Hall between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on February 3. He spoke about the forthcoming general elections in Burma, said a local.

“The Prime Minister said that since the government understands the difficult situation of its people in Burma, it will conduct general elections by the end of this year. Therefore, the people need to know how to select good candidates,” a local in Hakha town told Khonumthung News.

Although the military junta has not yet announced the date of the general elections, a newspaper in Japan reported that it will be held on 10 October 2010. It quoted high level sources.

The local people in Hakha town got the impression that the general elections will be held in October 2010 given what the Prime Minister and the Japanese newspaper said.

The premier also spoke of development of transportation by roads in Chin state. However, he avoided speaking about relief distribution for famine affected people to meet the food crisis in Chin state.

Later the PM inaugurated a new hospital in Hakha, the capital of Chin state. He returned to Kalemyo in the afternoon of February 3. He also inaugurated the new Tahan market which was gutted in 2006.

Prime Minister Thein Sein is the third junta leader, who has visited Chin state.   Former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt had visited in 2003 for the first time, and then in 2005 former Prime Minister Soe Win (L) visited Chin state for the second time.