Sai Myint Maung, Aung San Suu Kyi’s candidate for the National Assembly, Shan State Constituency #3, says authorities at the top may be trying to make the April 1 by-elections a free and fair event, but that does not seem to be the way authorities at the local level are striving for.
“To them, winning appears to be everything,” he told SHAN this morning.
He spoke of seeing in voters’ lists names of people who have been “dead for 3-4 years”, authorities ordering people to attend rallies held by the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and threatening them not to join “our campaign rallies.”
Nevertheless, he believes the NLD rally planned for the upcoming weekend for Aung San Suu Kyi will be big. She is due to fly to Lashio, where Sai Myint Maung is, on Saturday, 17 March, spend the weekend helping him and fly out on Monday, 19 March.
“I have talked to the people in the surrounding villages who say, thanks to the media, they have already learned about Daw Suu’s planned visit, and they are eager to meet her and listen to her,” Sai Myint Maung said.
The chosen venue is Yandaing Aung pagoda, located on the entrance to Lashio. “We had asked for the stadium and Yandaing Aung,” he said. “As expected, the authorities rejected the request to use the stadium. We therefore hope there’ll be no problem with Yandaing Aung.”
He explained why it was chosen as a rally point:
- It commands a tremendous view of the natural surroundings
- Sufficient space for thousands of people gathering there
- Far from schools where the final exams are taking place
“I’m sure she’ll be speaking everything we will like to hear, such as Panglong II and Rule of Law,” he said.
Kawli Media meanwhile reports residents of Lashio’s Quarter #12 were ordered by the local authorities to attend a rally organized by the USDP candidate Dr Nang Keng Phawng Tip on 11 March, on a one person per household basis. There were some 50 people attending, each of whom was given a bag of soap powder as a gift from the party on their way out.
