Getting there was hard enough, slogging over a rough and slippery mountain path almost 23 kilometres (14 miles) long, often having to push the motorbike, and with frequent spills as it struck potholes. The mud road was worse than most, even in landslide-struck Chin State, but the villagers in Hairawn have to cope with many hardships – no electricity, telecommunications, internet, radio or television. But then, most of the hundreds of other villages in northern Chin State are like this.

For parties campaigning in the state, the physical, financial and organisational constraints are formidable. But the handful of candidates who took the considerable trouble to trek out this far may find that it will pay off on election day.

Chin people think a visit from an election candidate is a sign of respect – one which they are prepared to repay. Conversely, they don’t think much of candidates who appeal for their votes from distant Hakha, the state capital.

Of the 13 parties contending for seats in the state, only three – the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, the main opposition National League for Democracy and the Chin National Democratic Party – are campaigning in all constituencies and prepared to visit all villages, no matter how remote. Of the three, the USDP seems to be expending the most time and effort doing so.

For some candidates, though, the strain of campaigning in far-flung villages is out of the question.

“I can’t campaign in remote villages because of my health and the poor transportation. But lots of people know me,” said Pu Chin Sian Thang, the 77-year-old chair of the Zomi Congress for Democracy, who is contesting a Pyithu Hluttaw seat.

Hairawn went for the USDP in 2010. The ruling party’s generosity with campaign finances and pledges may be helping attract voters in this election, too.

“The USDP was the first party to campaign here,” Lyan Pi, a villager of Hairawn, told a visiting reporter from The Myanmar Times. He said on a recent visit the party gave each villager K5000 and brought them together for dinner. The villagers formed a pretty good impression of the USDP and the representative’s commitment to serving the rural hamlet, he said.

But in the election this year the ruling party is facing more competition, even in Hairawn.

Salai Than Maung, 19, said he still had fond memories of the USDP’s generosity. “But I’m not sure now which party I like,” he said.

Pu Ngun Hei, NLD candidate for the Amyotha Hluttaw seat in Hakha, said the local people changed their mind whenever a new party visited, switching their allegiance from USDP to NLD after the opposition party campaigned there, and then from the NLD to the next party to reach the village. “I think the NLD will win here this time, though,” he said.

Pu Dout Lung, secretary of the USDP branch in Hairawn village, said the NLD spoke of change, but never spelled out exactly what changes it would bring.

“I support the USDP, but we’ve had no change in five years. When the NLD came I asked them what changes they would make, but I didn’t get a proper answer,” he said.

While the practicalities of campaign travel have barred many election hopefuls from reaching Hairawn, language barriers are proving another gulf that may disenfranchise many villagers who do not speak or read the Myanmar language. Inscrutable voter lists bearing lacklustre attempts to translate local names into Myanmar have already proven a hurdle. Ballots will also be provided only in the Myanmar language. As a result, many residents have focused on memorising the logo of their preferred party. However, many are nearly indistinguishable from each other.

The USDP is overcoming the language barrier by putting up posters that show the party’s logo, a white lion or chinthe, marked by a tick.

“People can vote for us without knowing anything about the party or the candidates,” said U Cung Bik, secretary of Chin State’s Union Solidarity and Development Party, adding, “I don’t believe the language barrier will give us an advantage. We all face the same problems, and we don’t know whether the voters will recognise our logo or not.”

Pu Thla Thawn, vice chair of the CNDP in Hakha, said Chin people would prefer local ethnic parties, whose candidates were attempting to reach all the state’s remote villages.

That said, there are 53 separate Chin ethnicities, and they are not noted for their solidarity. The ethnic vote could be split, said U Tin Royal, campaign chair for the Chin League for Democracy.

“It could be that no ethnic party gets enough votes to be elected,” he said.

With the advantage of running the current administration, the USDP candidates have also capitalised on campaign promises to rebuild in the wake of devastating floods and landslides in the state. The USDP office in Chin State was quick to distribute the government’s infrastructure rehabilitation plan, but more reticent to eke out concrete details such as the exact cost and the location for relocating destroyed villages. While new homes have been promised for December, the campaign trail pledge seems to so far lack any brick and mortar substance.

U Kyan Htet, an elder of Hairawn village tract, said local voters have been offered a panoply of inducements by candidates, but should choose officials who are going to remember their village beyond election day.

“Our village is poor. We like politicians who bribe us. But maybe it’s time to vote for a party that will improve our conditions,” he said.

Ma Ngun Tha Fom, 19, a villager from Hairawn now studying geography at Kalay University in Sagaing Region, said she had already made herdecision. “My hands are my own – I vote for who I want, and my vote is secret,” she said. “So I took the bribes offered by each party, but I’ll vote for the party of my choice.”