Kayah alliance pushes for electoral support

By Matthieu Baudey and Carole Oudot   |   Thursday, 14 May 2015

Ethnic Kayah and Kayan political parties continued their march toward consolidation into a single political entity yesterday, concluding a three-day conference in the Kayah State capital Loikaw.

 An audience member speaks at yesterday’s meeting in Loikaw. (Carole Oudot/The Myanmar Times)

Organised by the Kayan National Party (KNP), the Kayah Unity Democracy Party (KUDP) and the All Nationalities Democracy Party (ANDP), the event was held on ceremonial animist grounds on the town’s outskirts that are a symbol of a common past for Kayah ethnic groups.
The 400 attendees from across the state gave their views on intra-party cooperation and a planned merger.
“I am very happy to see all our Kayah tribes united here. Together they could obtain the majority at state parliament,” said one local woman in the audience. “I don’t vote anymore because I am too old – my turn has passed – but I tell every young person to get registered on the electoral roll.”
This conference concluded a series of seven meetings held in all of the state’s townships over the past two weeks.
“We collected the voice of the people. Slowly and steadily, we will bring it up to the next government. Make the sound louder and louder so that they can be heard,” ANDP vice chair U Solomon said.
In front of an attentive crowd, statements from villagers in Bawlawke and Mese townships were read by party leaders and propositions discussed.
The alliance, which was created in November 2014, will eventually give birth to a single Kayah party, they say. While the Union Solidarity and Development Party won virtually all seats in 2010 – including in the state hluttaw – the three parties hope for a better showing later this year.
They say the state hluttaw has been mostly inactive under USDP leadership, with few achievements to boast of over the past four years.
“We hope to get seats for Kayah people at the state hluttaw for the first time,” said U Stephen Tun Tun of the KUDP.
Both the KUDP and the ANDP were formed in 2013 and will field candidates for election for the first time. The KNP alone ran for 2010 election from its base in southern Shan State’s Pekon township, just over the border from Kayah State.
Sai Naing Naing Htwe, vice chair of the KUDP, said representation in Nay Pyi Taw’s Pyidaungsu Hluttaw would also be important.
“At the Union level, Kayah State is the smallest. We always come last and hold the lowest position for everything,” he said.
The centralised political structure in the 2008 constitution leaves state governments and hluttaws with only limited power. “Central government has complete control over state institutions. When people are not satisfied with something, the chief minister can just say it is not up to him, but to the central government,” U Solomon said.
Constitutional reform is one of the major issues that the parties plan to campaign on, along with land rights. Disputes over land being confiscated from farmers for large development projects have occurred regularly in recent years, and are a major flashpoint for conflict with the authorities.
The parties say that representation in parliament will help them address these issues. Nevertheless, they face challenges when canvassing for support.
“People are still afraid to talk about politics,” said U Stephen Tun Tun of the KUDP. “Because of this situation lasting for 60 years, it is hard to break the ice.”

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