While most electoral candidates throughout Chin State have submitted election expense reports to respective election commission offices, those in Paletwa Township have been unable to submit them on time due to difficulties associated with the ongoing conflict in the region.
Some 37 candidates ran for election on November 8 in Matupi District, Chin State, with 28 having already submitted the necessary post-electoral documentation.
“We still need reports from nine electoral candidates,” Min Aung Shein, secretary of the Matupi District Election Commission told Khonumthung News, noting that seven were from Paletwa and two were from Matupi. “They cannot send it due to transportation difficulties and security reasons,” he added.
Min Aung Shein said that he did not know how the Union Election Commission would rule over the delay, and, over the weekend, said that he hoped the reports would be sent “today.”
According to Burma’s election law, a candidate is allowed to spend 10 million kyats on their campaign but must submit a report with details of this spending within 30 days of the election, lest they face blacklisting from future elections.
“We have urged electoral candidates to send their election expense reports because we don’t want a bad image for our state. If an electoral candidate fails to submit an election expense report to their respective election commission, the candidate must be put on the blacklist,” Lin Kyaw, secretary of the Chin State Election Commission, told Khonumthung News.
A total of 171 electoral candidates from 11 political parties contested for election in Chin State in Burma’s general election this year.