Arakan party leader throws support behind election as path to peace

By Admin 17 Oct 2025

DMG Newsroom

17 October 2025, Kyaukphyu
 
U Ba Shein, chairman of the Rakhine Nationalities Party (RNP), has said that Myanmar is in chaos because there is no peace in the country, and that the junta-sponsored election therefore must be held.
 
U Ba Shein, who was attending the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), made the remarks in an interview with Voice of Myanmar, a pro-regime media outlet, on October 17.
 
He also claimed that through the election, representatives elected by the people will emerge and a government elected by the people’s representatives will subsequently emerge.
 
“There is no peace in Myanmar, and the country is in turmoil. The election must be held now. Only after the election can the people’s representatives emerge, and the parliament, government, and judiciary elected by the people’s representatives will emerge,” he added.
 
He said that while voting is a responsibility and right of every citizen, due to problems across the country, people are still unsure whether they have the right to vote or not.
 
The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has allowed six political parties — Arakan Front Party (AFP); Rakhine Nationalities Party; Rakhine State National Unity Party (RSUNP); Khami National Development Party; Mro National Party; and Mro National Development Party (MNDP) — claiming to represent the people of Arakan State to compete in elections slated for late this year and early 2026.
 
These political parties are hoping to attract votes from Arakan State residents in Sittwe, Kyaukphyu and Manaung, as well as displaced to Yangon and elsewhere in mainland Myanmar.
 
“Many Arakan State residents have moved to safer areas in mainland Myanmar. If there were 100,000 original voters, then if 80,000 of them move to Yangon, only 20,000 will be eligible to vote. We have to find out how the 20,000 voters are dispersed,” Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan Front Party (AFP), told the BBC on the 10th anniversary of the signing of the NCA.
 
The UEC has also arranged for displaced people from Arakan State in Yangon to vote by filling out Form 15.
  
However, the displaced people taking shelter in Yangon have little interest in the election and are struggling to make ends meet, according to the Arakanese community in Yangon.
 
Members of the junta proxy Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) have been campaigning for the votes of Arakanese people in Yangon and Ayeyarwady regions since the first week of October.
 
The military regime has allowed parliamentary candidates and political parties to hold election rallies and campaigns from 6 a.m. on October 28 to 12 a.m. on December 26.
 
Political analysts believe that the military regime is working to consolidate its power by organising weak armed groups and political parties as the election approaches.
 
“As the election approaches, it is not surprising that these voices are being raised to glorify the military regime by gathering weak armed groups and pulling them into political parties. I do not see these actions bringing peace to the country,” said a political analyst in Arakan State. “I see the killings and human rights violations during the dictatorship as a way to prolong the military regime.”
 
More than 5,000 candidates from 57 political parties, including six political parties competing nationwide and 51 political parties competing in states and regions, will compete in the election to be held on December 28.
 
At a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) earlier this month, Min Aung Hlaing said that he believes the upcoming elections will be free and fair.