Rakhine vote curtailed

YANGON: More than half the polling stations initially planned in conflicttorn Rakhine for Myanmar’s November 8 election will no longer operate, as parts of the state are too unstable for voting, the country’s election committee says.

The region, where most parliamentary seats are held by Rakhine nationalist opponents of Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has been beset by an intensifying ethnic insurgency.

The ruling National League for Democracy said three of its candidates were abducted in Rakhine while campaigning last week. Police did not respond to requests for comment, and Arakan Army insurgents made no statement.

Some areas ‘‘are not in a position to hold a free and fair election,’’ the committee said on Friday.

There will be no voting in nine of 17 townships in Rakhine, while four will have minimal voting.

‘‘This has a huge impact on us. We have only a few spots for voting left,’’ spokesman for the Arakan League for Democracy Myo Kyaw said. The league is one of the major parties in Rakhine. — Reuters