A veteran Chin politician has announced he won’t contest the upcoming elections, leaving behind many colorful decades in politics.
Pu Cin Shin Thang, the chair of Zomi Congress for Democracy (ZCD) won’t run in the 2020 general election, says General Secretary Pu Gin Kam Lian.
“He’s over 80 years old,” Pu Gin Kam Lian says, and ready to retire from politics.
Pu Cin Shin Thang, 82, secured a parliamentary seat for Tedim Township during the 2015 general election.
During the 1990 general election, Pu Cin Shin Thang led the Zomi National Congress Party (ZNC) to a victory in Tedim Township. But in 1992, the military regime forced ZNC to disband.
After reforming, the ZNC tried to contest the 2012 by-elections. But the government refused unless it dropped ‘National’ from its name, so it registered as ZCD with the Union Election Commission.
The ZCD contested the 2015 election, winning six seats in Chin State, securing Pu Cin Shin Thang a ministerial position.
During the 2020 general election on November 8, Pu Gin Kam Lian said the ZCD plans to contest 11 constituencies in Tedim and Tonzang townships in Chin State and Tamu and Kalay townships in Sagaing Region.
Under the leadership of T. Gougin and S. K. Samtehe, ZNC formed in 1972 to unify the Zomi people living in Burma and India. In 1988, the party held the first World Zomi Convention in India’s Mizoram State. The same year, after the 8888 Uprising in Burma, ZNC was allowed to register as a political organization.