Rangoon mayor pushes city staff to vote USDP

Wednesday, 08 September 2010 22:35 Mizzima News

Rangoon (Mizzima) – The mayor of Burma’s former capital has told departmental heads to push municipal staff to cast their votes in favour of the main junta-backed party in polls on November 7, city employees said.

city-hall-ygnsRangoon Mayor Aung Thein Lin told the municipal chiefs to hold special meetings in their departments to pass on his message that city civil servants should vote for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), of which is a high-ranking member, according to a municipal worker.

“But, it’s not the desire of the departmental heads. They just pass the message on to the employees but they will have to collect advanced votes … all of which will go to the USDP,” the municipal official said, on the condition of anonymity.

The former brigadier general is chairman of the Rangoon City Development and a central executive committee member of the Rangoon Division USDP. He will stand for the South Okkalapa Township constituency seat.
The mayor reportedly used the same tactic ahead of the 2008 referendum on the constitution.

“In the 2008 referendum, we had to cast votes in advance,” a city engineer said. “We didn’t need to go to polling booths. In the forthcoming election, I heard that the authorities will do the same thing. I live in Insein municipal housing but they [USDP members] told me I didn’t have to go to the Insein polling station. They said they would collect our votes.”

Municipal employees live in city housing in Insein, Sanchaung, Kyeemyindaing, Mingalar Taungnyunt, Tamway and Botahtaung townships.

There are 21 departments in the Rangoon municipality and departmental heads were required to join the USDP as members to keep their jobs. The municipality has about 3,000 employees and nearly all are eligible voters, of which, in the run-up to the elections, authorities have started to collect lists.

The USDP filed a total of more than 1,100 candidates to contest seats in the People’s Assembly, the National Assembly and in the States and Regions Assemblies in the forthcoming election, making it the largest party.

With 975 registered candidates, the National Unity Party (NUP) is the second largest.

Among the 47 political parties that have applied for registration, the electoral commission has approved 42, while 32 have submitted lists of party members.