Myanmar regime elevates two Arakan State townships to districts, scepticism ensues 

By DMG 04 May 2022

DMG Newsroom
4 May 2022, Sittwe 

Myanmar’s military regime this week added 46 districts to the administrative structure of the country, saying the move aims to further smooth the wheels of local administration and stimulate development. Few locals in Arakan State who spoke to DMG are convinced by the claim, however. 

Ko Myo Lwin, a resident of Ann Township, which has been upgraded to district status, said that while Myanmar descends into chaos and the administrative mechanism appears on the verge of collapse, the military regime’s creation of new districts is self-serving at best. 

“I don’t think there will be development and better enforcement of the law in Ann after it becomes a district. Considering the current landscape, the regime has added districts for their own benefit. Ann is a garrison town, and the regime has therefore upgraded it to a district to expand its military presence and administrative functions,” he said. 

Along with Ann, Arakan State’s Taungup Township has also been upgraded to a district. Ann District therefore comprises Ann and Myebon townships, and Taungup District comprises Taungup and Manaung townships, according to the Arakan State military council. 

One Taungup resident who asked for anonymity said he had no trust in the regime.  

“People are having a hard time. I don’t think the upgrading will do any good for people. It appears that more troubles are waiting for people,” he told DMG. 

Myanmar previously had 75 districts and with 46 newly added, the country now has 121 districts. With the addition of Ann and Taungup, Arakan State now has seven districts; the other five being Sittwe, Maungdaw, Mrauk-U, Thandwe and Kyaukphyu. 

In the wake of the junta’s jurisdictional reconfiguration, U Khaing Kaung San, director of the Wun Lark Rural Development Foundation, called for building out and upgrading infrastructure typical of district-level administrative units. 

“They have upgraded townships to districts. But even some towns don’t have the basic characteristics of a town. Towns lacking in electricity, water, transport, communication and healthcare services are just nominal towns,” he said. 

Some Arakanese politicians and observers have said the regime added new districts solely for the general election it plans to hold next year. 

At a regime press conference on April 27, junta-appointed Union Election Commission member U Khin Maung Oo said proportional representation (PR) would replace the current First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system for the 2023 election. 

Critics say the regime’s move is an attempt to prevent another landslide loss, after military-backed political parties were trounced by the National League for Democracy (NLD) under the FPTP system in the elections of 1990, 2015 and 2020. The military proxy’s Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won Myanmar’s 2010 poll, which was boycotted by the NLD.