A NEWLY elected MP for the ruling party has been shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Shan state and the party urged a quick investigation, denouncing violence in the aftermath of polls this month.
Htike Zaw was shot at the shop he ran at his house in the town of Kyaukme on Saturday, said party spokesman Myo Nyunt.
The man had won a seat in a Nov 8 general election that brought a landslide win for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD).
“He went outside to sell as a customer arrived, and that customer shot him, ” Myo Nyunt said by telephone, adding that the party asked authorities to investigate quickly.
“We denounce violence, especially violence related to politics which is bad for the future, ” he said.
Local police did not answer phone calls seeking comment.
The polls were the second held in Myanmar since the end of half a century of military and military-backed rule in 2011, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD won a resounding victory.
The party won fewer seats than other parties in some ethnic areas including Shan state, a region ravaged by conflict with insurgents and large-scale drug production.
Voting in some constituencies in Shan was cancelled before the polls, with authorities citing violence.
The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has challenged the result of the polls, alleging irregularities from poor-quality ballot boxes to advanced voting problems, and demanded a re-run.
The NLD has called for evidence of wrongdoing.
The result in Htike Zaw’s constituency, a seat previously held by an ethnic Shan party but won by the NLD in November, is among those being disputed, Myo Nyunt said.
The house of an election official in Kyaukme was also attacked earlier this month. — Reuters
Did you find this article insightful?
