NLD Picks Campaign Chiefs for Myanmar’s 2020 Election

By Htun Htun 30 October 2019

YANGON—The ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) has named four senior members who will steer the party towards electoral victory in the 2020 general election, according to party spokesperson Dr. Myo Nyunt.

The party’s election campaigns will be led by party Vice Chairman and Mandalay Region Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, Magwe Region Chief Minister Dr. Aung Moe Nyo and NLD Central Executive Committee secretaries U Nyan Win and U Han Tha Myint.

“Facilitating the functions of the party and rallying public support on a wider scale will all contribute to the party’s electoral victories,” Dr. Myo Nyunt told The Irrawaddy.

Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, previously a member of the Central Executive Committee, was promoted to third secretary of the committee on Oct. 29.

Dr. Myo Nyunt said that the promotion was intended to answer widely asked questions about the hierarchy within the party regarding who would succeed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The NLD currently has no plans to change Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s position as party chairperson.

“I have to try to the best of my ability to perform this duty,” said Dr. Aung Moe Nyo. “It is not about promotion, it is about greater responsibility.”

According to Dr. Myo Nyunt, the NLD’s candidates for state and regional chief minister positions will include many incumbents, adding that the ministers’ five years of experience in the executive branch are an invaluable asset to the party.

“I will work hard for electoral victory. If I am fit and I am assigned, I will contest the upcoming election,” said Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, referring to the Magwe chief ministerial race.

The ruling party already has particular candidates in mind for minister positions in the cabinet following the 2020 general election, according to Dr. Myo Nyunt.

NLD Vice Chairman Dr. Zaw Myint Maung warned party members at a recent meeting in Yangon that affiliation with the party alone is no longer enough to win votes in the 2020 general election and asked party members to hone their skills and capacities in order to win voters’ trust.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko