Myanmar Election Commission Vice Chairman Shot Dead by Rebels in Yangon

The vice chairman of Myanmar’s military-appointed election commission has been shot dead by rebels in the country’s commercial capital Yangon, authorities said, the latest killing of a prominent figure linked to the country’s military ruler.

The military information group stated in a statement that Sai Kyaw Thu, vice chairman of the Federal Election Commission, was killed in Dingyan Zun Township, east of Yangon, on Saturday, 22nd. Local media reported that he was shot multiple times in the chest, neck and head.

The army statement said the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) were responsible for the stabbing, but gave no further details.

The self-proclaimed anti-coup People’s Defense Forces, a loosely armed faction of the country’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), have sprung up against the military that seized power more than two years ago, leading to social unrest and an economic crisis in the country.

The Government of National Unity was established by elected politicians who were removed from office in a military coup.

Since seizing control of the country in 2021, Myanmar’s military has continued its bloody crackdown on dissent, with People’s Defense Force fighters targeting officials known or believed to be collaborating with the military.

Military leaders have tasked the electoral commission with holding new polls, which opponents of the military say cannot be free or fair.

Last month, the committee disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy for failing to re-register under strict new election rules drafted by the military.

The military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government in February 2021 after her party defeated military-backed parties in elections in 1990, 2015 and 2020.

Across the country, low-level officials working in the military or alleged informants are killed on an almost daily basis. And bloody reprisals from the military usually come quickly.

In April 2022, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Myanmar, appointed by the military just days after it seized power, was shot and killed by unidentified assailants at her home in Yangon.

In November 2021, an executive at Mytel, a telecommunications joint venture between the military and the Vietnamese company Viettel, was shot dead outside his home in Yangon.

The military’s power grab has also sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebels and spawned dozens of other opposition groups now battling across the country.