Democratic Party to focus efforts on lower house, leader says

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Most of the 47 candidates submitted by the Democratic Party (Myanmar) led by Thu Wai will contest seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house), standing for Rangoon, Mandalay, Pegu and Tenasserim divisions, and Mon and Arakan states.

Democratic Party (Myanmar) chairman Thu Wai. Photo: Mizzima

Mizzima’s Ko Wild spoke to the Rangoon division Mingalar Taungnyunt constituency Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) candidate, who said his party had to fear orders coming from above because most of the Union Election Commission (UEC) members were army officers.

Q: How many candidates from your party passed UEC scrutiny?

A: Three candidates were taken from our list before it was submitted to the UEC. Now that Hla Myint has been rejected by the UEC … I think 47 finally passed. Two candidates withdrew the nominations they submitted as their families had objected to them participating. They are from Pathein [township, Irrawaddy] and Shwepyithar [township Rangoon]. In the beginning, we had 51 candidates,.

Q: In which assembly have you fielded the most candidates and why?

A: The Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house). We had wanted to field candidates in all constituencies but we had to stand only in the constituencies we could … Many wanted to contest seats in the lower house as opposed to the Nationalities Hluttaw (upper house). Our candidates must bear their canvassing expenses and candidate deposits out of their own pockets. The upper house constituencies are bigger than those of the lower house, with more eligible voters. Some of those in the upper house comprise four or five townships and would’ve cost candidates more.

Q: Did your party hold meetings with eight independent candidates?

A: Not often. Independent candidates are doing canvassing work themselves and our party is doing its own work. But since most of our candidates are not fielded in their constituencies, we can help them. Likewise, they can help us in our constituencies too. This is just an understanding among us and that’s all. It’s not a very significant development.

Q: One of the eight, Dr. Phone Win, said one of your candidates is running in his constituency. Please explain.

A: Yes, Ko Phone Win and our candidate Aung Than Myint are standing in the same constituency. The latter is an executive committee member of our party …We fielded our own candidate before having co-ordination meetings with the independents.

Q: Do you have any links to the National Democratic Front (NDF)?

A: Not yet. But personally, we are old acquaintances and are on friendly terms with them.

Q: What do you think of the UEC notice on the right to canvass on radio and television?

A: Fifteen minutes is not bad. We had only 10 minutes in 1990 but there are major differences in the restrictions. There were no such controls in the 1990 general election. We had to submit our draft copy of speeches to be delivered on radio and TV and they were subject to censorship, but that’s all. This time, however, a lot of restrictions have been imposed on us. We don’t know yet what speeches we have to give.

Q: How will you cope with the nine restrictions listed in the UEC notice?

A: All these restrictions seem imposed at the will of the government and the electoral commission. They can do whatever they like, whether they take action or not. For instance, the restriction says not to stimulate sedition or give any talks that can tarnish the image of the state. So if we point out the drawbacks and weaknesses in the state, they can take action against us with this restriction. It all depends on them.

Q: So, what shall you do?

A: We must take this opportunity and we must speak cleverly. Under our objectives, we shall say what drawbacks are in our country and how we shall tackle these issues, but not in directly attacking government – we can’t do that.

Q: What differences have you noticed between the current UEC and the 1990 body?

A: The two commissions are quite different. The former commission was constituted with experienced elders. Though they had a close rapport with the government at the time, they didn’t blindly follow the dictates of the government. But most of the current commission members are retired army officers, who are used to following orders. In Rangoon Division, we have found that the district and divisional level UECs don’t know the electoral laws and rules very well, which means they can work only when they receive orders from above.

Q: Now you have known constituencies and candidates, in which areas does your party expect to win?

A: We regard that we will win most of the constituencies we contest. We don’t have any fears of contesting against candidates from either the USDP or NUP but we have to contest against candidates fielded by what we might call pro-democracy forces or the opposition. So the confusion surrounding the issue means that I can’t answer this question definitely.

Source:http://mizzima.com/edop/interview/4364-democratic-party-to-focus-efforts-on-lower-house-leader-says.html