Kayin party plots regional domination
Kayin party plots regional domination
Myanmar Times, 08 Jul 2015
URL: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/15371-kayin-party-plots-regional-domination.html
An ethnic Kayin party has set its sights on winning control of Kayin State at November’s elections. The Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party (PSDP) said it had drawn up lists of candidates for nearly every constituency in the state, and hopes to secure a majority in the state hluttaw.
U Man Aung Pyi Soe, vice chair of the PSDP, said the party had also identified candidates for the Union-level elections for the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
He said the party will field more than 35 candidates in the election.
“In the seven townships in Kayin State, there are 14 state parliament seats. Except for Thandaung and Papun, the other townships are under our dominance. Our target is to win about 12 seats,” he said.
The PSDP is also planning to field candidates in Paung and Kyaikmayaw townships of Mon State, which have sizeable ethnic Kayin populations.
The PSDP is affiliated with the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF), an alliance of ethnic parties whose member parties are also gearing up to contest the majority of seats in their respective state parliaments.
The federation has its sights set on winning control of state hluttaws, but also getting enough seats in Nay Pyi Taw to nominate a vice president.
“Winning almost all the seats in our state is our ultimate ambition. The condition of the Kayin people has not changed much since 2010. It should have been more developed than it is,” U Man Aung Pyi Soe said.
He vowed that his party would improve the lives of Kayin State residents if it won control of the state parliament, which is currently controlled by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Under Myanmar’s constitution, the president – currently U Thein Sein, also from the USDP – appoints the state’s chief minister, who then forms cabinet. While the majority of ministers are also from the USDP, the PSDP also has two representatives in the government: U Saw Khin Maung Myint, minister for transportation and communications; and U Saw Kyi Lin, minister for electric power and industry.
The Hpa-an-based party, which says it has more than 10,000 registered members, decided to contest the 2010 general election only at the last minute, said U Man Pyi Soe. It won two seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw and three in the Amyotha Hluttaw, as well as four in the state parliament. “Only when the USDP became a political party to run in the election did we decide to run,” he said. “We wanted to be part of the country’s transition to democracy and reforms.”
While the PSDP is working with other ethnic parties through the NBF, relations with other Kayin parties are less fraternal. The PSDP initially attempted to form an alliance with the Kayin State Democracy and Development Party, the Kayin Democratic Party and the Kayin People’s Party, but later withdrew from the talks.
U Man Aung Pyi Soe, vice chair of the PSDP, said the party had also identified candidates for the Union-level elections for the Amyotha Hluttaw and the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
He said the party will field more than 35 candidates in the election.
“In the seven townships in Kayin State, there are 14 state parliament seats. Except for Thandaung and Papun, the other townships are under our dominance. Our target is to win about 12 seats,” he said.
The PSDP is also planning to field candidates in Paung and Kyaikmayaw townships of Mon State, which have sizeable ethnic Kayin populations.
The PSDP is affiliated with the Nationalities Brotherhood Federation (NBF), an alliance of ethnic parties whose member parties are also gearing up to contest the majority of seats in their respective state parliaments.
The federation has its sights set on winning control of state hluttaws, but also getting enough seats in Nay Pyi Taw to nominate a vice president.
“Winning almost all the seats in our state is our ultimate ambition. The condition of the Kayin people has not changed much since 2010. It should have been more developed than it is,” U Man Aung Pyi Soe said.
He vowed that his party would improve the lives of Kayin State residents if it won control of the state parliament, which is currently controlled by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Under Myanmar’s constitution, the president – currently U Thein Sein, also from the USDP – appoints the state’s chief minister, who then forms cabinet. While the majority of ministers are also from the USDP, the PSDP also has two representatives in the government: U Saw Khin Maung Myint, minister for transportation and communications; and U Saw Kyi Lin, minister for electric power and industry.
The Hpa-an-based party, which says it has more than 10,000 registered members, decided to contest the 2010 general election only at the last minute, said U Man Pyi Soe. It won two seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw and three in the Amyotha Hluttaw, as well as four in the state parliament. “Only when the USDP became a political party to run in the election did we decide to run,” he said. “We wanted to be part of the country’s transition to democracy and reforms.”
While the PSDP is working with other ethnic parties through the NBF, relations with other Kayin parties are less fraternal. The PSDP initially attempted to form an alliance with the Kayin State Democracy and Development Party, the Kayin Democratic Party and the Kayin People’s Party, but later withdrew from the talks.