Hundreds of electoral candidates have registered to contest the 2020 general election in Chin State, according to the Chin State Election Commission.
Initially, 212 candidates were registered, but one withdrew its application, Lin Kyaw, secretary of the Chin State Election Commission, told Khonumthung News. With the deadline passed, no-one else can apply.
There are 46 electoral candidates contesting seats in the House of Representatives (Lower House), 64 for the House of Nationalities (Upper House) and 96 for Chin State Parliament. Of the candidates, 17 ran independently. Four for the House of Representatives, three for the House of Nationalities and ten for the Chin State Parliament.
Chin State has 39 constituencies in 9 townships. There are 9 in the House of Representatives, 12 for the House of Nationalities and 18 for the State Parliament.
There are 342,142 who are eligible to vote in the state, said Lin Kyaw. The government plans to open 1,107 polling stations for the November 8 election day. But Lin Kyaw suspects this could increase.
There are twelve parties in Chin State competing during the election. They include National League for Democracy, Union Solidarity and Development, Chin National Party, Chin National League for Democracy, Khumi (Khami) National Party, Zo Region Development Party, Zomi Democracy League, United Democratic Party, National Unity Party, Ethnic National Development Party, Union Betterment Party and People’s Party.
During the 2015 election, there were 202 electoral candidates from 13 political parties.