A former MP from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was shot dead in Yangon’s Botahtaung Township on Thursday evening in the latest killing of a figure connected to Myanmar’s ruling junta.
Nay Myo Aung, who was elected to the Yangon Region parliament more than a decade ago, was gunned down by two men who then fled the scene, witnesses told Myanmar Now.
“He was shot twice in the head at close range while walking near the sculpture shops in Botahtaung Pagoda Market. There were two gunmen. After the shooting, they ran away,” said a local resident who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The former MP from the military proxy party had reportedly been keeping a low profile in recent weeks amid a spate of deadly attacks on local officials and alleged regime informers.
Soon after the incident, regime forces arrived at the scene of the crime to collect CCTV footage from security cameras at Botahtaung Pagoda, according to a man living in the area.
Another resident said that Nay Myo Aung was about to consult a fortune teller in the market when he was shot dead.
Residents said they could not identify the killers.
Myanmar Now was unable to reach Botahtaung Township Myoma Police Station for comment.
According to USDP spokesperson Nanda Hla Myint, around 70 party members have been killed so far on suspicion of informing on anti-regime protesters.
“We, our party members, talk to each other to take care of our own safety and to support each other. We have to worry about others and we have to worry about ourselves,” he told local news outlet The Irrawaddy in an interview.
The USDP has not yet commented on the assassination of Nay Myo Aung, who won the 2010 election in Seikkan Township’s constituency 2 but lost his seat five years later when the National League for Democracy (NLD) swept to power.
In 2018, he ran again and defeated his NLD rival by around 150 votes. However, the result was later overturned due to alleged electoral fraud, allowing the NLD candidate, who received the second-highest number of votes, to claim the seat.
The charges against Nay Myo Aung were based in part on a report by Myanmar Now, which had discovered that more than a hundred residents of his constituency had received low-interest loans from a company linked to the USDP.
Myanmar Now later testified before the Union Election Commission in Naypyitaw in connection with the case, which also included charges of using religion for campaign purposes and illegal construction of a party office on state-owned land.
Nay Myo Aung admitted that he was behind the loans, but denied that they were related to the election.
“Lending money or not lending is not the main issue. I am just thinking of how to help the people in my constituency,” he told Myanmar Now in an interview conducted at the time.
