A newly elected National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker was shot dead in Shan state’s Kyaukme township on Saturday by an unidentified gunman, the party has said.
Htike Zaw, who was due to take his seat in the Amyotha Hluttaw next year after winning on November 8, was in front of his home when the killer drove up and shot him, said Dr Myo Nyunt, the NLD’s spokesperson.
“A gunman came by motorcycle and shot him in the right of his chest while he was chewing betel in front of his house in the evening,” he said. “I just see this as a way of using terrorism in politics.”
A group of people took Htike Zaw to the hospital in Kyaukme but he died on the way, the spokesperson added.
Zaw Min Latt, a sitting MP in Kyaukme and the NLD’s executive committee in Shan state, condemned the killing.
“This incident reveals how much our Shan state needs peace and rule of law,” he said.
Earlier this month the house of Soe Htun, deputy chair of Kyaukme township’s Union Election Commission branch, was shot at.
Soe Htun is the older brother of Tun Tun Hein, the speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw.
