In his first anniversary speech, Khu Oo Reh, chairman of the Karenni State Interim Executive Council (IEC), announced that IEC's administrative mechanism is now operational in eight townships in Karenni State, a year after its establishment.

IEC, founded on June 6, 2023, has made rapid progress in administrative capabilities, Chairman Khu Oo Reh declared in his speech.

During this one-year period since the IEC's establishment, community-based administrative mechanisms, involving lawmakers and stakeholders, were formed and operated in eight townships”, he said.

Each township-level administrative council formed by IEC usually consists of 7 to 9 members. 3 members are selected by the local armed resistance forces, while the remaining members are elected by the public, driving the council's administrative mechanisms, Khu Oo Reh elaborated.

Despite the previous governments only demarcating 7 townships on the Karenni State map, IEC aims to define 16 townships under its new administrative mechanism. According to IEC Secretary No. 2, U Banyar, practical administrative work has already commenced in 8 of them.

"We have divided the state into smaller townships to make our administrative systems more compact and efficient. This is a temporary plan for the interim. When the transition period comes, we will reorganize the townships as needed. Our goal is bottom-up federalism, a bottom-up governance approach”, he said.

The IEC is paving the way for federal democracy rooted in self-determination, equality, self-governance and laying the groundwork  to build a federal democratic union, U Banyar added. IEC comprises 8 divisions, each diligently pursuing its responsibilities to achieve specific objectives in designated areas.