Some parties request UEC to hold elections in cancelled constituencies in Shan State

Some parties request UEC to hold elections in cancelled constituencies in Shan State
(File) Myanmar people casting their votes at a polling station in Taunggyi, eastern Shan state on November 7, 2010. Photo: AFP

Some political parties sent their presentation to the Union Election Commission (UEC) to hold the elections in most of the cancelled constituencies in Shan State announced by the commission.

In the UEC announcement, six entire township constituencies in Shan State were cancelled, and eight more wards and 133 more village-tracts from other 16 townships were cancelled. The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) party won in most of these cancelled constituencies in the 2015 general elections.

SNLD party spokesman Sai Kyaw Nyunt said, “In our presentation, we request holding elections in some cancelled constituencies in Muse, Lashio and Kyaukme districts. Especially we requested for Mong Kung township constituency. For Monk Kung township constituency, we made this presentation by coordinating will all contesting parties, not by our party alone.”

For holding elections in the cancelled Mong Kung constituency, a petition signed by over 10,000 people was attached in the presentation sent to the UEC.

He also said that the party instructed all party candidates from these cancelled constituencies to send their presentations to the UEC if they think the elections could be held in these cancelled constituencies.

Voting has been blocked in a number of areas in ethnic states due to conflict and a lack of security.