The Union Election Commission (UEC) announced that a total of 87 parliamentary candidates in Karenni State will run in four constituencies during the first phase of the regime elections on Dec. 28, including the capital Loikaw, Bawlakhe, Hpruso and Demoso townships.
“The Kayin State People’s Party, Union Solidarity and Development Party, People’s Pioneer Party, and National Unity Party, will compete for the elections,” the UEC stated on Oct. 26.
The regime declared martial law in three out of seven Karenni townships: Shadaw, Hpasawng and Mese, which were seized by Karenni resistance forces after they launched an offensive on Nov. 11, 2023.
A resident in Loikaw Township told DVB that the state’s regime administration demanded that everyone check voter lists this month to see if their names are on them.
They are also urging those displaced from their homes due to fighting between regime and resistance forces to return prior to the start of the three-phased elections that will continue into January 2026.
“We have no choice but to return and obey [the regime],” a Loikaw resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity. He added that people from Demoso Township, where fighting between resistance and regime forces is underway, have been threatened to have their homes seized by regime authorities and sealed shut if they don’t return in the next 60 days.
An independent Myanmar political analyst told DVB that the regime in Naypyidaw is using fear to coerce residents of Karenni to vote in its elections.
“The right to vote or abstain from casting a vote is a civic right. But threatening citizens can be considered electoral violence,” the political analyst told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
The regime’s Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 337, 429 and 430 as well as the Bawlakhe Township police station are located 52 miles (83 km) south of the Karenni State capital Loikaw.
A Bawlakhe Township resident claimed that only military officers and their families remained as the majority of the residents fled their homes after telecoms services to the region were cut by the regime.
“There are no civilians in Bawlakhe to cast ballots,” a resident told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
According to the UEC, three parliamentary candidates in Demoso Township, three in Hpruso, four in Bawlakhe and four others will compete in the capital Loikaw for seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or lower house of parliament.
A total of 15 candidates will compete for seats in the Amyotha Hluttaw, or upper house of the parliament, in three constituencies.
The UEC stated on Sunday that it has increased election expenses after it amended the Political Parties Registration Law.
Each party’s candidates is now allowed to spend 30 million MMK ($7,352 USD) on election expenses, while ethnic nationality candidates are allowed to spend 50 million MMK ($12,254 USD), according to the amended law.
The National Unity Government (NUG) and ethnic armed organizations, including the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Arkan Army (AA), declared the regime elections a “sham” and called on citizens to oppose it.
The General Strike Coordination Body, an alliance of anti-regime forces established in March 2021, called on people to oppose the elections. “It will be an event full of violence,” the GSCB stated in its press release on Oct. 28 – the first day of campaigning allowed by the UEC.
