The monk said the decision was made by Abbot U Nyana Wantha, who is about 70 years old and has no political affiliations.
On Sunday evening, four candidates from the USDP - Dr. San Shwe, Dr. Chan Tha, U Kyaw Zan Hla, and Kung San Shwe - came to the monastery to hold an election campaign rally. The abbot refused at the scene to allow his monastery to be used for the rally.
Speaking to Narinjara over the phone, another senior monk said, "Many abbots in Sittwe are unable to stand the manner of the Election Commission, which gave permission for the USDP to hold rallies in religious buildings against the election law. The EC has not allowed other political parties to use religious buildings for rallies. This is the reason the abbot opposed the USDP using his monastery for the rally."
Because of the abbot̢۪s refusal, the USDP postponed its election campaign plans for that day in Ma Kyi Myint Ward in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State.
According to sources, this is not the first time the USDP has been denied access for a rally, with other monasteries also refusing to allow their space to be used for political purposes.
"Some monasteries in Sittwe, like La Run Win and Sin Htein, refused to provide space for USDP election rallies recently," the senior monk added.
Despite the refusal of some monasteries to allow the USDP to hold rallies there, the authorities can not take action against the abbots because they made their refusals in accordance with current election laws, which state that political parties can not be allowed to use any religious buildings for election campaign rallies or vote canvassing.
http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2752
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