The party will run for a seat in Pyithu Hluttaw which is vacant after MP Sai Moon of Laihka Constituency passed away in December, and another seat in the Mandalay Region which is the position of Shan Affairs Minister U Kyaw Zaw who also passed away in early January.

 “The SNLD made a decision during this meeting to run in the by-election. The candidates will only be known after they have been selected by respective area,” said Nan Mya Htwe, the SNLD's State Hluttaw MP from Loilen Township, southern Shan State.

The SNLD held its central meeting at Sky View Hotel in Lashio on January 20-21 and decided to run in the by-election. During the meeting, the SNLD also discussed the tasks it has carried out last year and set down the work programs for the next year.

Although the Union Election Commission said it will hold the by-election for vacant seats within 2018, it has not announced the exact date for the by-election. Rumors claimed that the by-election will be held before June at a cost of Ks 1,600 million.

Currently, there are nine vacant legislative seats in the states and regions. The SNLD won six out of eight vacant seats in the Shan State Parliament in last year’s by-election. The SNLD won 40 seats in the 2015 General Election.