The Shan State Army – North (SSA-N) will allow the Burmese government to hold the by-election and set up a polling station in Wan Hai, where its headquarters is located, on 1 April as it is under Kyethi constituency, SSA-N’s spokesperson said.
SSA-N’s spokesperson Major Sai Phone Han told S.H.A.N that SSA-N fully support the election so it will allow the Burmese government to set up a polling station and hold the election in Wan Hai Village Group.
“The election was held in Wan Hai Village in 2010. We have never objected to the election,” he said.
Although Kyethi and Mong Hsu townships were included in the list of constituencies for the 2015 Election, the Union Election Commission postponed the election in those two townships because of fighting between the Burma Army and the SSA-N in Mong Hsu Township while the election was approaching.
“The government cancelled [the election] in 2015. Now, we are ready to assist them,” Major Sai Phone Han added.
The Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), also known as the White Tiger Party, won in Wan Hai and Kyethi constituencies in the 2010 Election. The SNDP, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), and the National League for Democracy (NLD) will be running as major competitors in the two constituencies in the upcoming by-election.
Candidates will run for eight seats in Shan State during the by-election: six seats in Mong Hsu and Kyethi constituencies, where SSA-N is active, and one seat each in Keng Tong and Nyaung Shwe constituencies.
Translated by Thida Linn
