The number of female electoral candidates registered with the Chin State Election Commission (EC) to contest the 2020 general election is down from the 2015 elections. Out of 211 candidates for this year’s election, only 18 are women, representing only 9 percent of the total candidates. During the last election, 22 women contested seats in Chin State. Lin Kyaw, secretary of Chin State EC, blamed women’s low participation in politics this year on the pandemic, which he says has caused parties to hastily choose their candidates. “I expected the numbers of female candidates to increase during this general election, but…
Author: Editor
For the upcoming elections, there are almost double the electoral candidates for Kalay District, in Burma’s Sagaing Region, compared to 2015 when the last general election happened, according to the Election Commission (EC). In 2015, there were 33 candidates but 61 registered this year. Yin Nwe Nwe, secretary of Kalay District EC, said nine of the electoral candidates are women. The candidates are contesting seats in the House of Representatives, House of Nationalities and Sagaing Regional Parliament. Eleven will contest the Minister of Chin Ethnic Affairs for the Sagaing Region. There are 19 parties competing in Kalay District. Of these,…
A total of 1,360 pigs have died from the circovirus in Chin State’s Thantlang town since April, local officials said. The pigs were killed by the Porcine Circovirus Type 2 (PCV2), for which there is a vaccine but no treatment. “There are almost no pigs left in Thantlang,” Dr. Lian Bwi, who works in Thantlang’s livestock and veterinary department, told Khonumthung News. “The pigs died within one to two weeks last month. Pigs have also died this month,” he added. PCV2 is spread from pig to pig, through contact with bodily fluids, and from pregnant sows to piglets in utero.…
Farmers have sent a letter to the Chin State government outlining their opposition to a planned dam on the Nawi Tidil river near the state capital of Hakha. The farmers say that they stand to lose 40 acres of farmland to the project. “The government told us that they would pay us compensation for our farmland. These are our paddy fields. We have worked on this farmland for so many years. We will not accept compensation,” farmer Per Huwi told Khonumthung News. The dam is supposed to distribute drinking water from the Nawi Tidil river to people in Hakha town.…
Locals in Chin State’s Tedim Township informed Burma’s Vice President Henry Van Thio of six primary demands from residents of the area during his visit last week. During a meeting at an area high school on August 12, Tedim elders spoke with the vice president about changes demanded by locals, representatives from the Zomi Youth Association told Khonumthung News. They asked that Tedim be promoted from a township to a district and that the area get connected to the national power grid, as well as better water distribution to Tedim town. They also said the area needed a 200-bed hospital…
Chin National League for Democracy (CNLD) announced plans to contest over fifty constituencies during the 2020 general elections. “We need to restore self-determination, federalism and equality,” Salai Ceu Bik Thawng, general secretary for CNLD, told Khonumthung News. “This is the time to stand for an ethnic national party. Our Chin people have lost their ethnic rights since the Panglong Agreement (1947).” CNLD is fielding candidates for seats in Chin and Rakhine states, and in Sagaing and Magwe regions. Initially, the Chin party intended to contest 48 constituencies but opted to go after more seats. According to its statement on August…
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…
A total of eleven electoral candidates are vying for Minister of Chin Ethnic Affairs of Sagaing Region during the 2020 general election. Ler Thang Cum told Khonumthung News he’s contesting the post as an independent candidate to be a voice for the people. “We need a link between the government and our Chin people, and I will fill that gap.” They’re apprehensive about speaking directly to government officials, he said, and “why they have lost their basic rights.” “We’re very close to our Chin people; we know what they really need.” Election candidates from seven parties and four independent candidates…
The continued blocking of transportation routes into the southern Chin State town of Paletwa has created ongoing food insecurity, locals say. Ferry routes and roads have been cut off between Paletwa and Kyauktaw in Rakhine State since February 6 due to fighting between the Burma Army and the Arakan Army, leading to a shortage of food in the area. Even though the World Food Program (WFP) and the Chin State government has sent rice other rations to Paletwa for internally displaced persons (IDPs), locals in the town say they are now the ones without enough food. “Bags of rice, which are…
Burma’s Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) announced two more cases of COVID-19 in Chin State this Friday (August 7). Both of the individuals infected with the coronavirus were studying at a Bible theology school in India before returning home. Chin State Health and Social Affairs Minister Pau Lum Ming Thang told Khonumthung News that Case 358 is from Kalay, Sagaing Region. Case 358 is from Tedim Township in Chin State. Both of them are in quarantine in their home regions. On August 5, MoHS confirmed Case 357, who is in quarantine in Tedim town. Currently, there are four COVID-19…