Myanmar sets 60 days for by-election campaign period

YANGON: Myanmar’s Union Election Commission has set 60 days as the by- election campaign period starting Jan 30, an announcement from the election body said yesterday, China’s Xinhua news agency reported.

The country’s by- election, the first in the new government tenure, is set for April 1.

All 95 candidates including 16 women from 24 political parties and seven individuals will compete in the by-election.

The ruling National League for Democracy ( NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, and the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party ( USDP), now led by U Than Htay, will be the two parties which send the most number of candidates for the by-election.

The USDP will compete in all 19 constituencies with vacant parliamentary seats in the byelection, while the NLD will join in 18 constituencies excluding a constituency in Kayah state.

The by- election aims at filling the 19 vacant parliamentary seats, some of which became vacant after parliament members were appointed as government cabinet ministers, while other vacancies were due to some constituencies failing to hold the polling in the last general election in 2015.

Of the total 19 vacant parliamentary seats available in 22 townships in eight regions and state, nine are with the House of Representatives ( Lower House), three with the House of Nationalities ( Upper House) and seven with the state parliaments. Election results or names of those winning parliamentarian select will be announced within the next four days following the byelection.

In the Nov. 8 general election in 2015, the NLD won an absolute majority of 255 or 79 percent with the House of Representatives, 135 or 80 percent with the House of Nationalities and 475 or 75.7 percent with the Region or State Parliament as well as 21 ethnic representatives to the Region or State Parliaments.