Pu Zo Zam, the chairman of the Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD), said that his party would “seize” the Chin State parliament during elections to be held next year.

The remark, made at a ceremony on Friday for the opening of a new branch office in Kalay, Sagaing Region, aimed to raise expectations for the party’s prospects during Burma’s 2020 general elections.

“The CNLD is focusing on two things. The first is building Chin State and the second is Chin nation-building. We have successfully implemented the first across Chin State. This means that the CNLD will seize the Chin State parliament in the 2020 general elections,” Pu Zo Zam said in his opening speech at the gathering.

Three Chin political parties—the Chin National Democratic Party (CNDP), the Chin Progressive Party (CPP), and the Chin League for Democracy (CLD)—merged to form the Chin National League for Democracy.

The National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won half the votes in Burma’s last national elections, which were held in 2015, while the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party came in second with more than 16 percent of the votes.  

Pu Zo Zam said that his party would get rid of any law that causes the Chin people to suffer unjustly.

“We will remove all unfair laws for our Chin people. We will be useless politicians if we can’t remove unfair and unjust laws for our people,” Pu Zo Zam said.

The CNLD has branch offices in eight townships in Chin State. The party has also opened offices in Tamu and Kalay townships in Sagaing Region. According to the party chairman, the CNLD will also open offices in Magwe Region and Rakhine State.