Eleven candidates will run independent from any political party affiliation in the 2020 general election, representing the country’s “farmers and workers,” they said Monday.
Among the independent candidates are labour rights lawyer U Htay and Myanmar Farmer’s Union chairperson Su Su Nway, a longtime democracy activist and former political prisoner.
The announcement came at a July 6 press conference held at the Sky Hotel in Hlaing Tharyar township, on the west side of Yangon – home to the city’s largest industrial zone and the hundreds of thousands of migrants who work there.
The All-Myanmar Network of Trade Unions endorsed U Htay, who is running for a lower house seat in eastern Hlaing Tharyar township.
“We will bring the voices of farmers and workers into the parliament,” U Htay said. “We will stand by the people in the working class.”
Su Su Nway is running for the same lower house seat in her native Kawhmu township that state counselor and National League for Democracy party leader Aung San Suu Kyi won in a 2012 by-election and in the 2015 general election.
The candidates are contesting four lower house seats, one upper house seat and six seats in the Yangon regional parliament in Kawhmu, Hlaing Tharyar and Htanabin townships – all areas largely populated by migrant workers.
They were chosen by labour groups including the Confederation of Trade Unions in Myanmar (CTUM), the All-Myanmar Trade Unions Network, the Myanmar Farmers Union and the Land in our Hands network.
CTUM president Pyi Thit Nyunt Wai said the candidates were chosen for their independence from party politics, their understanding of issues important to farmers and workers and their abilities to lead.
He said he is confident about their chances given the makeup of Hlaing Tharyar.
“We are hopeful people will donate to these independent candidates… mostly in small contributions of 500 or 1,000 kyat,” he said.
