Democracy Party (AMDP) and the Women’s Party (Mon) as well as independent candidates that had splintered from the Mon parties.
Many reasons can be given as to why the Mon candidates lost votes. However, the reality is, they didn’t receive the adequate number of votes to succeed in this election.
The population of Mon State comprises of various ethnic groups. The majority being Mon but the state also harbors Burmese, Karen and Pa O people. Most of the candidates from the two major Mon parties didn’t receive enough votes to be elected and clearly it is due to having two Mon parties.
According to election outcomes, election commentators and voters, there was a cloud of doubt when casting votes for Mon candidates. This was based on the feeling that they would take one side if they voted for a Mon party. Also, some voters didn’t want to vote for Mon parties while others would rather Mon candidates lose if they were from the competing party.
Mon monks, activists and Mon people, who desired for the two parties to merge, had worked hard and mediated the process of unification. They believed that Mon parties would lose major votes if they competed separately. However, the parties did not agree to merge. In the end their election prediction came true since the majority of Mon candidates desperately lost the election.
Leaders from the two major Mon parties were unable to work towards party unification. This was regretful since the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Union Solidarity Party (USDP), the country’s two major political parties, competed strongly in the elections. The NLD won in a landslide.
In the 1990 elections, 5 Mon candidates out of 19 won seats when they competed against the candidates of the NLD. In the 2010 elections, 16 Mon candidates of 35 again won when they competed against the USDP. However, in the 2015 election, although almost 100 Mon candidates contested the elections, only 4 candidates won. Thus, this election will be recorded as a wipeout for Mon candidates.
The next election will be held in five years time. Hence, IMNA would like to state that unless Mon candidates are united and all Mon parties emerge as one, then Mon candidates will continue to receive far fewer votes and there will be even less promise for Mon candidates to be sitting at the Hluttaw (Parliament).
