USDP Candidates of Maungdaw Deposit 500,000 Kyats for Election Commission

Maungdaw: Five candidates from the Union Solidarity Development Party in Maungdaw Township in Burma's western Arakan State deposited 500,000 kyats each with the Township Election Commission on Thursday as registration fees, said a close associate of the USDP.

"They deposited the money with the Election Commission after their oats were completed in the township court. The candidates submitted the money to the EC along with the certificate of oaths," he said.

Among the candidates are three Muslims and two Buddhists, but most are living in Rangoon and Sittwe.

"The USDP candidates for Maungdaw are U Htay Win, U Maung Tha Khin, U Jahangir, U Mra Aung, and U Aung Zaw Win. They went to the EC yesterday to deposit the registration fees," the source added.

U Aung Zaw Win, a Muslim businessman living in Rangoon, will run for a seat in the upper house, or Pyithaungsu Lwet Taw.

Retired teacher U Maung Tha Kin, an Arakanese national living in Maungdaw, will also run for a seat in the National Legislature as a USDP candidate, while another Muslim man, U Htay Win, will run for a seat in the National Legislature.

Mr. Jahangir, a retired Muslim teacher, and U Mra Aung, an official from the Cooperative Department, will run for seats in the Arakan State Legislature.

According to a source, the USDP candidates in Arakan State have been depositing the registration fees with the EC in their respective townships in Arakan State since 26 August.

All candidates who want to run in the upcoming election must pay the EC a fee of 500,000 kyat, the equivalent of 500 US dollars, which is more than half a year's salary for an average schoolteacher.

Narinjara