Kachin parties to participate in by-election
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Three ethnic Kachin political parties will participate in the by-elections expected to be held near the end of this year, members of the parties said.
“We will participate in the by-elections if they are held. We are confident the public will support us. A political party cannot be underestimated or overestimated. We will focus on the public support, not other parties’ activities,” the chairperson of the Kachin State Democracy Party said.
The KSDP is one of four parties representing ethnic Kachin people in the strife-torn state. Two others – the Kachin State National Congress for Democracy (KNCD) and the Kachin Democratic Party (KDP) – said they would also participate in the by-elections that will fill vacant seats in the Union Parliament as well as state legislatures.
The by-elections are seen as a key gauge of political parties’ support ahead of national elections scheduled for late next year. The remaining Kachin party, the Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State, will skip the by-elections so that it can focus on the 2015 election, its general secretary Phaun Lar Kan Phan said.
Four seats in the Lower House are up for grabs in Kachin State. They represent the constituencies of Bhamo, Phakant, Mogaung and Waingmaw.
Two other constituencies – Suanparabon Township No 2 and Ingyanyan Township No 2 – are in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army.
KDP chairperson Gumgrawng Awng Kham said the party would field candidates in all four constituencies and that its main competitor would be the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party.
The KNCD will field candidates in constituencies where most voters are ethnic Kachin, its secretary said.
The 2010 national election included Kachin State, but the resumption of conflict between Union troops and the Kachin Independence Army prevented the national by-elections in 2012 from taking place in the state.
