According to sources close to local administrators, residents are showing a lack of interest in the military junta’s selection of new village administrators, scheduled for this May.
Supervisory committee members are being selected and formed across Mon State for the election of new village administrators, after which the administrators will be chosen through public voting.
Public interest in the current election is low because many people no longer trust village administrators. A source close to the administration team in Ye explained the declining interest is related to the popular view that village administrators largely carry out the military junta’s orders dating back to the coup, and are involved in the military conscription matters.
“Only a few people want to compete in this village administrator election, and public interest is also low. In our area, there is still no one willing to run as a new administrator. Since there are new candidates, some current administrators want to resign but are unable to do so,” he said.
The military junta’s administrative system remains ineffective due to unstable security conditions, and the public is unlikely to actively participate.
Under the current situation, very few people are willing to serve as ward or village administrators because revolutionary groups have taken action against those cooperating with the military junta.
A source close to the Mudon Township administration team stated that, although the selection process is officially set from ten-household leaders up to administrators, in practice, the Township General Administration Department is making appointments as it sees fit.
A resident from Chaungzon said that if the ward and village administrator selection process is to be carried out, it should be fair and the administrators should be genuinely chosen by the public.
“We want the public to be able to choose fairly, because people themselves know best what they have experienced, both good and bad, over the past years. If new administrators are to be selected, we want to see a fair process through each level, from ten-household leaders to hundred-household leaders,” he said.
Since the military coup, most administrative positions in Mon State have been occupied by members of the USDP who are close to the military council, and have also worked with police to allow gambling and drug activities to operate openly within villages.
Some observers believe that only people close to the military will be selected in the current ward and village administrator elections.
The term of a village tract administrator is set to be the same as the president’s term, which is normally five years.
Under the law, administrators are not allowed to serve more than two consecutive terms, and newly elected administrators can officially take office only after being elected.
