A woman candidate has been chosen to contest the general elections in Burma by one of the ethnic parties, the Shan National Democratic Party (SNDP).

The woman is said to have been selected at the party’s meeting held in Shan State North’s Muse, opposite China’s Ruili. On 17 August, executive committee members of Muse branch office met to choose eligible candidates for the elections to be held on 7 November. The meeting selected 16 candidates through a secret voting system, a meeting participant said.

In addition, the voting system was divided into two sections: one was to vote for candidates for the upper and lower houses and another section was to vote for candidates of the state legislature. “Those 16 selected people were further sifted out by the number of votes they received from the members,” he said.

A candidate who won the most votes would be automatically recognized as a candidate for the upper and the second winning person is a candidate of the lower house. Therefore, the said selected candidate, Nang Ngwe Ngwe, (54), a Bachelor of Education Degree (B.Ed.) holder and a retired school teacher of Muse, is a unique woman who could break the record of the most votes for the state legislature, a member said.  

“She will be a candidate for the state/region legislature of Shan State.”

Apart from Nang Ngwe Ngwe from Muse, more women candidates are also expected to be selected in other townships as 40 per cent of the SNDP members are women and additionally 10 out of 40 per cent are in the leading committee members or executive committee members, said another party member who asked not to be named.

Most reports of women’s participation are from Shan State North’s Namtu, Namkham and Muse; Mongkeung in Shan State South; and Shan State East’s Tachilek, opposite Thailand’s Mae Sai, he said.

Women’s participation in political affairs is rare in Burma, especially in the ethnic community as most people from ethnic areas have lack of access to higher education. On the other hand, they are given little space by the military regime to participate and most people, who participate in political affairs, run the risk of being put in prisons.

The regime in Burma held a general election in 1990 and of 2,296 candidates, 84 were women, according to Women Political Prisoners in Burma, a joint report of the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU) and Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

Among those 84 women, 15 won seats in parliament in the elections, but they all have boldly faced imprisonment and different kinds of oppression on their family lives, the report said.

“Everyone is welcome to be SNDP members whether they are men or women. In addition, people who meet the party’s criteria would also be selected as party’s candidates like Nang Ngwe Ngwe,” another executive committee member told SHAN.

With regards to the SNDP’s criteria, anyone who expects to contest in the upper and lower houses must at least hold a degree, which is not a requirement for a candidate for the state/region legislature, he said.

The number of the party members, according to the list sent to Naypyitaw on 17 August, is over 1,500. At present, the party is rushing to choose candidates as they need to send the list by the end of August.