Myanmar’s ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party says it hasn’t confirmed that party chair and State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will run for Parliament in a township in Naypyitaw in the upcoming election, despite rumors.
The Union Election Commission announced that the country will go to the polls on Nov. 8 and that 96 parties, including the NLD, will field candidates.
Political parties, including the NLD, still haven’t finalized their candidates. However, a social media post by opposition lawmaker U Maung Myint of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) prompted a rumor that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will run for a Lower House seat in Ottarathiri Township in Naypyitaw. He commented “See you then” on the post because he lives in the township.
When asked by The Irrawaddy on Wednesday about his post regarding Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s candidacy, U Maung Myint said, “I learned that her candidacy in Ottarathiri Township is not confirmed yet. I heard there are another two constituencies slated for her candidacy.”
NLD Central Executive Committee (CEC) Secretary U Nyan Win and Information Secretary Monwya Aung Shin said they could not confirm the State Counselor’s candidacy.
“For the candidates and their constituencies, the party’s Central Executive Committee will officially announce them,” Monway Aung Shin told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
The NLD’s CEC is currently reviewing the candidates’ applications and the full candidate list is expected to come out on Monday.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ran for and won a Lower House seat in Yangon’s Kawhmu Township in the 2012 by-election and the 2015 general election.
For this year’s election, a new NLD candidate, Daw Kyi Kyi Win, has applied to the party for the candidacy for Kawhmu.
As for the Ottarathiri Lower House seat, current NLD lawmaker U Kyaw Min Hlaing has also applied for the candidacy.
He told The Irrawaddy he “will wait for the party Central Executive Committee’s decision” as to whether he would be allowed to run in the township.
To select candidates for this year’s election, the NLD’s township-level executive committees and are working with community elders to choose priority and secondary candidates for each constituency. However, there have been disagreements over some of the candidates.
Monwya Aung Shin said the party is choosing carefully and that the State Counselor herself is reviewing the list, as there are objections over some proposed candidates.
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