IMNA : The Mon region in Burma will be less developed due to a smaller number of votes for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the military government’s proxy party and unofficial winner of the November 7th elections, explained a USDP member of parliament (MP) and Chairman of Mon State, U Ohn Myint,
U Ohn Myint is a retired Burmese army commander and a past minister of the State Peace and Development Council (former Burmese government – SPDC)’s regime.
U Ohn Myint, who is also of Mon ethnicity, asked,“why didn’t the Mon people elect Mon parliamentary candidates [from USDP] to lead them? The fact that the Mon voters did not elect good candidates [from the USDP] will effect the future development of the Mon region. So I am not happy because of this.”
U Ohn Myint expressed his dissatisfaction that the USDP did not win in a landslide in Mon State during a religious ceremony in Kamawet village, Mudon Township, Mon State as an example in which the majority of Mon voters voted for the All Mon Regions Democracy Party (AMDP).
However, Kamawet villagers argued by asking why, if he is of Mon nationality, didn’t he run under the Mon party [the AMDP] instead of the USDP. “Why did he run under the banner of the USDP instead of the AMDP?”asked a Kamawet villager who voted for the AMDP during the elections.
Many voters from Mudon Township have accused the USDP of fraudulence and receiving various types of assistance, including financial assistance, from the ruling government during the elections.
One Mon youth from Mudon Township said to IMNA, “if they [USDP] had to raise their own money and run in the elections with the same restrictions as many of the political parties experienced, I would just like to know how many seats they could win.”
In Mon State, USDP through its social organization, Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), received thousands of pre-votes before the elections. Migrant workers in Thailand, elderly people, and other disabled persons who were eligible to vote in the Burmese elections had to register their pre-votes nearly six months before the elections.
In most constituencies, USDP beat AMDP through pre-votes, and in Mon State parliamentary seats, USDP won 11 seats over AMDP’s 7 seats. Political observers in Mon State have reported that U Ohn Myint will be appointed as Prime Minister of Mon State according to the criteria set up for a military commander to be State/Division administrative chief.vvvv
