YANGON – In Myanmar, eleven aspiring election candidates have outlined their intentions to challenge for seats in order to give a voice to workers and farmers which, under the current government, face oppression when speaking out on rights issues.
These individuals will target seats that the National League for Democracy won in the country’s 2015 election.
“Existing labour laws fall short of protecting labour rights and enforcement is very weak under the current government, so it has become clear that we need to raise our voice,” said U Htay, who’s running for a newly created constituency. “We held a series of discussions with unions and civil society groups from last November to March, which led to the decision to contest this year’s election as independent candidates.”
