A candidate running against Aung San Suu Kyi in the Kawhmu constituency has failed in his attempt to prove she has permanent residence status in Britain and had also failed to pay taxes to Burma.
The Rangoon Region Election Commission on Tuesday dismissed his effort and approved her candidacy, officially removing the last threat to her election to Parliament from Rangoon Region.
Rangoon Region Election Commission chairman Ko Ko told Mizzima the challenge by Tin Yi of the Unity and Peace Party failed because he had no credible evidence that she had permanent resident status in Britain or that she had made bank deposits in foreign banks, or she had failed to pay taxes to the Burmese embassy when she lived in New Delhi.
Section 121 (f) of the 2008 Constitution says that a person who is entitled to enjoy the rights and privileges of a subject of a foreign government or a citizen of a foreign country shall not be entitled to be an electoral candidate.
Ko Ko told Mizzima, “He needed to file reliable evidence. He should have had the required documents from the relevant embassy to prove that she failed to pay taxes and needed to submit those documents. He just copied an article from an old journal and wrote baseless allegations that he had heard.”
Tin Yi first submitted his objection to the South Rangoon District Election Commission, but the commission rejected his request on January 11.
Suu Kyi’s two rivals in the constituency are Union Solidarity and Development Party candidate Dr. Soe Min, and UPP candidate Tin Yi. To contest in the Kawhmu Township constituency, Suu Ky registered in Warthinkha village, which is dominated by a Karen population.
“I chose that village because it is a village of Karen people. I will become closer to them, that’s why I chose the township,” Suu Kyi told the media.
In 2010, out of a total 135,000 population in Kawhmu Township, 83,000 are eligible to vote.
