YANGON — U Soe Lwin, who won a seat on the executive board of the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) as a candidate for the National League for Democracy in last month’s municipal election, was voted deputy mayor of Myanmar’s largest city and commercial capital on Monday. “[Yangon residents] will see change. We contested the […]
Traffic, garbage and drainage the top concerns in Yangon, say election hopefuls
YANGON — Traffic management, garbage collection, drainage and land tenure were named as the main concerns of Yangon residents at a panel discussion to promote the municipal election on March 31. Hundreds of people attended the event organised by the Yangon School of Political Science and the New Myanmar Foundation in downtown Maha Bandoola Park […]
Yangon gearing up for March 31 municipal election
The Yangon Region Election Commission will announce on Monday the candidates qualified to run for election to the City Development Committee (YCDC) on March 31. Since the new government took power in April 2016, the YCDC has had only five committee members, including the committee chair (mayor) and secretary, appointed by the government. On March […]
USDP seeking to make comeback in 2020 elections
Leaders of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which lost seats in the 2015 general election, say they are overhauling the party to regain their standing in 2020. The USDP was defeated by the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and has been serving as the opposition and […]
Smartphones Bring Happiness And Headaches To Myanmar
The number of mobile subscribers in Myanmar has quickly grown in a short five years from a mere 500,000 to more than 22 million — giving Burmese a crash course in all the benefits and challenges new technology can bring. Myanmar’s low electrification rates, recurring power outages and poor Internet infrastructure mean that this growth […]
Coal power projects to be delayed
All of Myamar’s planned coal-fired power projects are likely to be delayed beyond the general election, which is set to be held on November 8, according to officials. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for 11 coal-fired power plants was signed between the Ministry of Electric Power (MOEP) and local and international private companies in 2010, […]
Provocative Facebook posts may be banned ahead of Myanmar elections
YANGON: The Myanmar government will join hands with Facebook to remove any posts that may incite violence during the upcoming election campaign period. The country is set to go to the polls on Nov 8. Due to an increase in Facebook and mobile phone users across the country, authorities said they are concerned some netizens […]
Election Has Speculative Land Purchasers Running
Investors are closely watching the 2015 elections, as this uncertainty has led the real estate market to slow down over 50 percent from last year, according to an official from the Myanmar Real Estate Service Association. “The market is cooling down due to the election, but we need to watch things carefully after 2015 also,” […]