A total of 20 female candidates from Arakan State will run for parliamentary seats in the 2020 general election as advocates of women’s inclusion push for greater representation in Myanmar’s legislative bodies.

Five people including the chairperson of the local Arakan National Party (ANP) chapter in Sar Pyin village, Taungup Township, who had been charged under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law were released by the Taungup Township Court on August 12, their lawyer said.

Candidates from the main opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) are slated to contest every constituency in conflict-plagued Arakan State for the 2020 general election, according to the candidate lineup unveiled by the USDP on August 12. 

A woman from Khapaw village in Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township was wounded by an artillery shell believed to have been fired by the military on August 11, according to family members of the victim. 

Riverbank erosion due to heavy seasonal rains and strong currents destroyed three houses recently in Thae Khone village, Pauktaw Township, according to residents.

Outbreaks of influenza, diarrhoea and other illnesses have been reported at some camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Arakan State as the rainy season takes its toll on those uprooted by conflict. 

Sixty-eight out of 2,596 polling stations scheduled to be set up in Arakan State for the upcoming 2020 general election will be arranged for security personnel and their families, according to the Arakan State election subcommission.

A resident of Pazun Phay village in Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township has died in military custody, according to family members of the man.  

Six candidates have registered to run for Yangon Region’s Arakanese ethnic affairs minister post in the 2020 general election, according to an official from the Yangon Region election subcommission. 

Two out of three Department of Public Health employees detained at a military checkpoint on August 9 were released the following day after undergoing questioning, while their colleague is being held at the Myoma police station in Ann Township, Arakan State, according to locals.

Officials from Arakan State-based ethnic political parties say they will contest the 2020 election with the aim of preventing the dissolution of their parties, mindful of a requirement that they field candidates in at least three races to remain viable under election law.

Six Muslim men from Arakan State’s Sittwe and Maungdaw districts have registered to contest the 2020 general election for state and Pyithu Hluttaw seats, according to the candidate list released by the Arakan State election subcommission. 

Preliminary lists of eligible voters could not be posted publicly in 36 villages across five townships of northern Arakan State, the state’s election sub-commission has said.

 Farmers report facing difficulties transporting fertilisers in some townships of northern Arakan State due to ongoing conflict between government troops and the Arakan Army (AA). 

The All Arakanese Solidarity Committee (AASC) released a statement on August 8 urging culpable individuals and organisations to immediately end the inhumane treatment of Arakanese people. 

Two men who allegedly killed a married couple living in Yangon Region’s South Okkalapa Township were arrested in the Arakan State capital Sittwe, Yangon Region police said on Saturday. 

A resident of a village in Arakan State’s Pauktaw Township was arrested at a military checkpoint in Myebon Township on August 4, family members said. 

Residents from about 50 villages in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu and Ann townships who earn their living by fishing are experiencing difficulties due to pollution in the Thanzit and Laungchaung rivers.

A Manaung Township resident is facing a lawsuit under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law for a Facebook post criticising Amyotha Hluttaw lawmaker U Kyaw Than over a question that the MP posed to parliament last month.