Villagers dispute re-election of Southern Ye Village Administrator

January 14, 2016

Ye: Villagers in Kyon Nyae village tract, located in southern Ye, Mon State, have expressed disapproval over the re-election of their sitting Village Administrator, Nai Htun Kyi, who has served in his post for over 10 years. While the village committee remains supportive of Nai Htun Kyi, a group of villagers are preparing to send a letter of complaint to various government departments, demanding the election of a new village head.

Nai Htun Kyi, who also serves as one of ten local household administrators, was last week re-elected to his position as Village Administrator of Kyon Nyae village tract, in a poll that was made available to all residents. Kyon Nyae village tract is comprised of five villages: Toetat, Ywar Thit, Kabyar Wa, Tayote Htaung, and Mee-Tai-That. According to villagers, Village Administrator Nai Htun Kyi has served in his post for the past 10 to 15 years.

Nai Kong Sakar, one of the villagers preparing to pen a petition against Nai Htun Kyi, explained, “We villagers want to elect a new village head. The current elected village head has been our leader for a long time, since the era of the Village Peace and Development Council. It is always him who gets elected over and over again for this position. We want a change.”

While Nai Htun Kyi was democratically re-elected to his position, the complainants allege that Nai Htun Kyi abused his position and connections to win votes. They claim that villagers are afraid of Nai Htun Kyi, who is thought to be well connected with various government figures, including the local police and nearby Light Infantry Battalion No. 31.

“Five years ago, it was him. Now, it is still him,” said Nai Kong Sakar, “We just cannot tolerate him always taking the position. We plan to send a letter, but we are still getting advice about where we should send it. Some colleagues suggested that we should not send it yet, because soon a new government will take office and it would be better to send the letter to our parliament representative when the new government takes office. This is not bad advice. We are discussing whether or not to wait.”

Nai Kong Sakar concluded, “The villagers are ready to sign our petition. They agree with us, and support us wherever we go and whatever we do. We are preparing our letter to dethrone the old leader.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News