Injured Naing Ngan Lin, an opposition lawmaker, lies on a hospital bed in Yangon on Oct. 30. The National League for Democracy party candidate was attacked at a campaign rally one day earlier. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP)
Election-related violence has reared its ugly head just days before Myanmar's Nov. 8 poll, after assailants attacked an opposition parliamentarian with knives and swords.
The brutal Oct. 29 attack in Thaketa township, on the outskirts of Yangon, has confirmed the fears of senior opposition party officials, who believe more attacks are likely.
Win Htein, an executive committee member with the National League for Democracy, said that three of its members remain in the hospital, while the parliamentarian's fingers were seriously injured.
"Unconfirmed reports emerged that the attackers are criminals who were released from prison under the government's amnesty," Win Htein told ucanews.com on Oct. 30.
Naing Ngan Lin, a sitting lower house lawmaker and a candidate for Yangon regional parliament, was attacked at a campaign rally on Oct. 29.
Local media reported that police detained three assailants.
The attack on the National League for Democracy rally came just three days before the party's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is scheduled to give a campaign speech in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. The Nov. 1 first speech will be among her final campaign speeches before the end of the campaign period on Nov. 6.
Win Htein said the attack will not deter Suu Kyi's planned campaign in Yangon — but it does pose troubling questions about the long-awaited vote.
"The attack raised questions on the credibility of the election and election-related violence ahead of the Nov. 8 election," said Win Htein, who is also an aide to Suu Kyi.
Many observers believe the election will be the freest and fairest poll in Myanmar in a quarter-century. Suu Kyi's party is up against the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, or USDP.
But the attack on a member of her party has raised security concerns for Suu Kyi, who has spoken in front of large crowds during campaign stops in different parts of the country.
"We need to be very careful in the run-up to the election," said Mahn Johnny, a Catholic lower house lawmaker with Suu Kyi's party.
The party is expected to do well in the November election, but Suu Kyi herself is barred from the presidency under the 2008 Constitution, as she was married to a British scholar and her two sons are British citizens.
Some believe the large crowds — often in the thousands — that turn out to opposition campaign rallies have fueled concern among backers of the ruling party.
"Speaking frankly and openly, the ruling USDP doesn't want to lose its power in the election so they might use multiple ways to sway votes," said Khu Eugene from the Kayan National Party, who is vying for a state parliament seat in Shan state.
The U.N. special rapporteur to Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, also has raised concerns about the credibility of the election.
"This is a watershed moment in the democratic transition of Myanmar and I urge everyone involved to ensure that respect for human rights is front and center in the run-up to the elections, during elections and following the elections," Lee said in a statement before the U.N. General Assembly on Oct. 29.
