Budalin township, Sagaing Region, has gone heavily for the National League for Democracy, according to the party’s candidate there.

U Kyaw Zaw Lin said he had won by a landslide, taking 68 percent of the vote, and beating five other candidates, including the current chief minister of the region, U Thar Aye, who was running for the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Budalin is the chief minister’s home town, in which he was running for regional constituency 2. It is home to about 150,000 voters.

“People voted for me because they love Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her party,” U Kyaw Zaw Lin told The Myanmar Times yesterday.

“I will do my best to serve the people and deserve their confidence. Reforms will be conducted in the hluttaw according to the policy of our party. We want people to trust the law, not fear it as they do now.”

In the race for the Amyotha Hluttaw, the NLD candidate won with 50,334 votes to 17,784 for the USDP, and in the Pyithu Hluttaw race, the NLD beat the USDP 50,739 votes to 18,112.

For regional hluttaw seat 1, the NLD won with 25,215 votes to 6953 for the USDP, and for regional hluttaw seat 2, NLD received 24,956, the USDP 11,190.

“I ran for election because this is my home town and I wanted to serve the people,” said the chief minister. “I accept their decision.”

Translation by Thiri Min Htun