• Burmese
Thursday, July 17, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

USDP Comes Knocking in Voter Outreach Push

Htet Naing Zaw by Htet Naing Zaw
January 12, 2015
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
USDP Comes Knocking in Voter Outreach Push

Members of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) rally support in Rangoon in January 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

2.7k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — The ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has launched a door-to-door voter outreach campaign ahead of Burma’s 2015 national elections, according to party officials, amid lingering uncertainty over the scope of partisan initiatives permitted by the Union Election Commission.

Party officials acknowledged this week that the campaign was a preemptive effort aimed at countering a widely held view that the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party will pose a formidable challenge to the USDP’s ability to hold power in elections slated for late this year. The voter outreach is in recognition of the fact that the party is unlikely to win a landslide victory as it did in 2010, when the NLD boycotted the widely discredited polls.

“The USDP is campaigning door to door. It is targeting to rally the support of three groups—workers, farmers and youths,” Hla Swe, a USDP Central Committee member, told The Irrawaddy, adding that the party was also conducting a survey on voters’ needs.

RelatedPosts

Drafting Voters as Cannon-Fodder; Rewarding Lackey Ladies; and More

Drafting Voters as Cannon-Fodder; Rewarding Lackey Ladies; and More

July 5, 2025
1.3k
Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

June 14, 2025
1.5k
Yadaya: How Myanmar’s Junta Boss Hopes to Hex His Way to Presidency

Yadaya: How Myanmar’s Junta Boss Hopes to Hex His Way to Presidency

May 29, 2025
1.9k

The USDP door-to-door outreach would appear to fall within a gray area of campaign rules laid out by Burma’s Union Election Commission (UEC), one restriction being a limitation that some have interpreted to be a blanket ban on campaigning more than 60 days prior to Election Day. At a Dec. 15 meeting between political parties and UEC chairman Tin Aye, however, the elections chief reportedly told attendees that pre-campaigning to gain general party support was not prohibited, and that the 60-day by-law only applied to campaigning by individual candidates.

Last week, both the USDP and NLD were accused by some of Burma’s smaller parties of skirting campaign rules, which both parties have denied. Neither party has yet decided on the candidates it will field in the election, expected in late October or early November 2015.

The USDP is carrying out its door-to-door campaign mainly in rural villages.

“The USDP has come to four or five villages in our region and asked which party we voted for in 2010 [election] and which party we will vote for in 2015. They also asked if we need electricity or water for regional development,” said Zigon village resident Tin Lwin in Thaegon Township, Pegu Division.

U Shwe, whose Thaebyahla village-tract in Thaegon Township was visited, said it had been years since the ruling party had stopped by, with the long-absent USDP showing up recently offering to repair roads and disburse loans.

“They are campaigning saying they will lend 50,000 kyats [US$50] to each family. They ask those who want to borrow money to sign. Many people will take it if they offer it as people here are poor,” said U Shwe.

“They said they would take our photos to give us USDP membership cards. They said it is more convenient to travel and stay overnight at others’ houses with the card,” he added.

Shwe Mann, the ruling party chairman, has been meeting recently with farmers in Burma, where incentives were reportedly offered to those attending the USDP-organized rallies.

When Shwe Mann met locals in Dawei, Tenasserim Division, on Jan. 2, enticements were offered to attend the meeting, according to Yi Yi Htway from the Dawei Farmers Union.

“They provided ferry, meals, saying that farmers who attend the rally would get agricultural loans and other inputs,” said Yi Yi Htway.

The USDP is set to hold a behind-closed-doors Central Committee meeting in Naypyidaw from Jan. 15-17, with its list of candidates expected to be announced sometime thereafter.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: Election
Htet Naing Zaw

Htet Naing Zaw

The Irrawaddy

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts
Analysis

Myanmar Junta Counteroffensives Failing Across Country: Analysts

by Hein Htoo Zan
September 20, 2024
16.8k

Three major operations to retake territory from ethnic armies and their allies are being hampered by troop shortages, experts say.

Read moreDetails
Former Myanmar 88 Gen Leader Opens People’s Party Office in Yangon 
Burma

Former Myanmar 88 Gen Leader Opens People’s Party Office in Yangon 

by The Irrawaddy
January 29, 2024
4.2k

Ko Ko Gyi has endorsed a junta election plan widely condemned as a sham aimed at cementing the military’s grip...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Coup-Maker Blames China; Admits Defeats in Northern Shan; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Coup-Maker Blames China; Admits Defeats in Northern Shan; and More

by The Irrawaddy
August 3, 2024
3.8k

Also this week, state-run cooperatives revived amid shortages, holes in poll plan revealed, emergency extended, general lost in Lashio battle,...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Billion-Dollar Myanmar Military ‘Outgunned’; Dictator Gets New Nickname; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Billion-Dollar Myanmar Military ‘Outgunned’; Dictator Gets New Nickname; and More

by The Irrawaddy
February 3, 2024
3.7k

Also this week, the regime’s election plan suffered another setback as the state of emergency was extended for another six...

Read moreDetails
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi with U Soe Thane at the Oslo Forum in June 2012. / Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Stories That Shaped Us

Pro-Military at Heart, Myanmar Ex-Minister Once Dubbed a ‘Reformer’ Reveals True Colors

by Hpone Myat
December 27, 2021
23.1k

U Soe Thane, once hailed as the int’l face of U Thein Sein’s 2011 reforms, writes in his latest book...

Read moreDetails
China’s Geopolitical Maneuvering in Myanmar: A Tale of Influence and Infiltration
Guest Column

China’s Geopolitical Maneuvering in Myanmar: A Tale of Influence and Infiltration

by Vaishali Basu Sharma
August 9, 2024
3.4k

Beijing’s embrace of the junta’s election plan masks a strategy to deepen political and economic interference in neighboring country.

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
New MPT Plan Gets Lukewarm Reception From Mobile Users

New MPT Plan Gets Lukewarm Reception From Mobile Users

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

2 days ago
1.2k
‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

‘Not a Witch Hunt’: Upholding Survivor-Centered Justice in Myanmar

6 days ago
800

Most Read

  • Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    Indian Army Accused of Deadly Strike on Separatists in Myanmar

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rakhine Fighters Close In on Myanmar Junta’s Naval Base

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Behind the Scenes: China’s Hand in Myanmar’s Election

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Recaptures Nawnghkio After Months-Long Counteroffensive

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Rogue Sagaing Resistance Fighters Held Over Robbery Gone Wrong

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.