Prominent candidates of the ruling USDP campaigned in hoped-for strongholds over the weekend, with parliamentary speaker Thura U Shwe Mann declaring he was politically alive and well despite his purge as party leader during an internal coup last month.

Addressing rallies in his hometown area of Phyu in Bago Region where he is running for a seat in the lower house, the ex-general promised a flurry of development should he win the seat.

Thura U Shwe Mann came to show voters during his four days of campaigning that despite his sudden ousting as USDP chair he remains loyal to the party. But in the context of an election that might not produce an outright winner, the Speaker also delivered a message of wider cooperation in the cause of national unity.

“Our country needs many people who are happy to collaborate with any political party and people for the sake of the country,” said the Speaker, whose conciliatory approach to opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had earned him the ire of party hardliners.

“The dignity of our township is never diminished because of me,” he added. “I will serve the interest of the country, based on the interests of my township.”

Some 1000 people turned out at the September 12 rally.

Thura U Shwe Mann is up against candidates from four other parties as well as independents. His comments suggest he has not abandoned his presidential aspirations.

“Hluttaw will make the decision [over the presidency],” he said. “This is not my decision. This is the people’s and representatives’ decision.”

His main rival is likely to be his former classmate U Than Nyunt of the NLD who expressed his total confidence that he would take Phyu, beating the Speaker as well as U Ko Ko Kyaw, Director General of the President Office.

U Than Nyunt knows his rivals of the establishment bring more resources and may win the votes of elders and the wealthy elite. But he believes that most among the 180,000 eligible voters will buy the NLD message of “change”, and that his focus on human rights and better transportation will set him apart.

In Pobbathiri township, one of eight constituencies in the capital, U Wai Lin, a retired lieutenant general running for a USDP seat in the lower house, warned against those calling impatiently for swift institutional changes.

“They are too eager to make changes without noticing the current situation in Myanmar,” he said on September 11 in Aung Thu Kha village. “Our party is working deliberately to make changes.”

Countering the NLD slogan “vote for change”, the ex-officer carried his message to four villages. “We need to make changes smoothly, with considerations of potential pitfalls,” he said. “That’s why I’d like to say, vote for our party – we are making changes by considering the current situation.”

Most listening were USDP members, joined by about 500 locals. U Myint Kyine, township secretary of USDP, praised U Wai Lwin’s ability to solve the challenges of rural areas in the township.

“Voters here are in trouble, as they voted for the wrong party in the 2012 by-election,” he said. “People like U Wai Lwin are needed desperately in Myanmar. They will work for the benefit of the people if they are elected.”

The 2012 by-election saw NLD’s take the seat, but a 65-year-old community elder in Aung Thu Kha, expressed regret for that result.

“Not only are the villages still undeveloped, but also the Hluttaw representative we elected didn’t even send a letter after he won,” he said. “He never comes to us and we couldn’t contact him. Now we know who we should vote for.”

In Yay Oh Zin a 55-year-old local named U Win Tint said he thought U Wai Lwin would be the best candidate to develop the village. He also echoed his elder’s opinion on the 2012 by-election. “We suffered a lot because we wrongly voted. I regretted it. Our village didn’t receive any development,” he said.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun