Myanmar Junta Sends Envoys to Wa State to Build Election Support

缅媒：缅甸军政府派遣特使前往佤邦争取选举支持

作者：伊洛瓦底江          来源：伊洛瓦底江

Junta-appointed Shan State Chief Minister Aung Aung (center) and delegation in the Wa State capital Panghsang on Aug.7, 2025

2025年8月7日，军政府任命掸邦首席部长昂昂（中）率领代表团在佤邦首府邦尚

Junta-appointed Shan State Chief Minister Aung Aung and Triangle Region Command Chief Major-General Soe Hlaing on Thursday visited Panghsang (also known as Pangkham), the capital of Wa State, which is controlled by the United Wa State Army. The visit comes as the junta ramps up preparations for elections at the end of the year in a bid to legitimize its rule.

军政府任命的掸邦首席部长昂昂和三角地区司令部司令索莱少将星期四访问了佤联军控制的佤邦首府邦桑（又称邦康）。此次访问正值缅甸军政府加紧准备今年年底的选举，以使其统治合法化。

The chief minister conveyed “cordial greetings” from the junta, newly rebranded as the State Security and Peace Commission, to the UWSA leadership, which is a signatory to a ceasefire with the military regime. He promised support for education and healthcare development in Panghsang as well as “preparations for the elections scheduled for December”, according to the WeChat page of the Voice of Wa State.

这位首席部长转达了军政府（新更名为国家安全与和平委员会）对佤联军领导层的“亲切问候”，佤联军是与军政府停火协议的签署国。据佤邦之声（Voice of Wa State）微信页面报道，他承诺支持邦尚省的教育和医疗发展，并“为定于12月举行的选举做准备”。

The meeting was chaired by UWSA deputy chief Zhao Guoan, who welcomed the delegation on behalf of Chairman Bao Youxiang and the Wa State Government.

佤联军副团长赵国安主持会见，并代表包有祥主席和佤邦政府对代表团表示欢迎。

In previous elections, the local Wa Democratic Party usually won. The party is an ally of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

在以前的选举中，当地的佤族民主党通常获胜。该党是军方支持的联邦巩固与发展党（USDP）的盟友。

In towns adjacent to the Wa region that were previously controlled by the regime but have been controlled by the MNDAA since Operation 1027—such as Kunlong, Chinshwehaw and Laukkai—the USDP has been electorally dominant.

在与佤邦地区相邻的城镇，如昆隆、钦秀豪和劳开，这些城镇以前是由军政府控制的，但自1027行动以来一直由MNDAA控制，USDP在选举中占据主导地位。

Other parties including the National League for Democracy, Shan and Nationalities Democratic Party, and the United Democratic Party also operate in the region, but they enjoy less support than the USDP.

其他政党包括全国民主联盟、掸族民主党和统一民主党也在该地区开展活动，但他们得到的支持不如巩发党。

The most powerful ethnic armed group in Myanmar, the UWSA has upheld a ceasefire with the previous regime for more than three decades, but refused to sign the 2015 Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement.

佤联军是缅甸最强大的民族武装组织，30多年来一直与前政权保持停火，但拒绝签署2015年全国停火协议。

The UWSA is headquartered in Panghsang, which is made up of Mongmao, Monglin and Mongpauk districts and Pangkham special township. The UWSA collectively refers to these areas—which cover around 1,500 square km—as northern Wa State. The military-drafted 2008 Constitution officially uses the name Wa Self-Administered Zone for what the UWSA calls Wa State.

佤联军总部设在邦尚，邦尚由勐茅、勐林、勐堡区和邦甘特别乡组成。佤联军将这些面积约1500平方公里的地区统称为佤邦北部。军方起草的2008年宪法正式使用佤邦自治区的名称，佤联军称之为佤邦。

The UWSA expanded to Monghsat District on the Thai border in the 1990s with the agreement of the State Law and Order Restoration Council, as the military junta of that era was known. That area is referred to as southern Wa State, and designated by the UWSA as Military Region 171. The 2008 Constitution does not recognize the area as part of the official Wa Self-Administered Zone, however.

上世纪90年代，在国家恢复法律与秩序委员会（State Law and Order Restoration Council）的同意下，佤联军扩张到了泰国边境的勐实区（Monghsat）。该地区被称为佤邦南部，被佤联军指定为第171军区。然而，2008年宪法不承认该地区是官方佤族自治区的一部分。

The UWSA wants its northern and southern states to be combined and recognized officially as Wa State, and has been demanding official statehood. In its statement, it calls itself the Wa State Government. The regime has agreed in principle to grant statehood to the UWSA-controlled areas.

佤联军希望其北部和南部邦合并，并被正式承认为佤邦，并一直要求正式建国。该组织在声明中称自己为佤邦政府。缅甸政权原则上同意给予佤联军控制地区国家地位。

The UWSA is also the chair of the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Council—a coalition of ethnic armed groups that opted out of signing the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement with the previous government.

佤联军还是联邦政治谈判与协商委员会的主席，这是一个由少数民族武装组织组成的联盟，他们选择不与前政府签署全国停火协议。

Despite its official declaration of a “neutral stance” in the fight between its allied ethnic armed organizations and the regime in anti-regime Operation 1027—which saw the regime lose control over much of northern Shan State—the UWSA is widely believed to have secretly backed its allies.

尽管佤联军在其联盟民族武装组织与反政府的1027行动中宣布“中立”，但人们普遍认为佤联军在暗中支持其盟友。1027行动使缅甸政府失去了对掸邦北部大部分地区的控制。

The junta delegation and UWSA government also discussed development of Burmese-language education in Wa State, where locals use Chinese yuan as the currency and speak Mandarin or Chinese dialects.

军政府代表团和佤联军政府还讨论了在佤邦发展缅甸语教育的问题，佤邦当地人使用人民币作为货币，说普通话或汉语方言。

A resident of Hopang town controlled by the UWSA told The Irrawaddy he had not heard about any preparations for the junta’s planned December election taking place there.

佤联军控制的Hopang镇的一名居民告诉《伊洛瓦底报》，他没有听说军政府计划于12月在那里举行选举的任何准备工作。

The junta’s election body has provided training on using electronic voting machines in towns it controls in eastern, southern and northern Shan State. The military’s proxy USDP enjoys popular support in southern Shan State thanks to the Myanmar military’s ties with aligned local militias. Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing has often visited Taunggyi, Kengtung and Tachilek in southern and eastern Shan State, whereas the regime has ceded large swathes of territory in northern Shan State.

军政府的选举机构在掸邦东部、南部和北部由军政府控制的城镇提供了使用电子投票机的培训。由于缅甸军方与当地民兵结盟的关系，军方的代理人USDP在掸邦南部获得了广泛支持。缅甸军政府领导人敏昂莱（Min Aung Hlaing）经常访问掸邦南部和东部的东夷、广东和大其力（Tachilek），而该政权已经割让了掸邦北部的大片领土。

During his visit to Kengtung in May, Min Aung Hlaing told personnel of the local battalions and their families to choose candidates “who can truly serve the interests of the nation”—interpreted as a call to support the USDP, which is led by ex-generals.

敏昂莱在5月份访问广东时，告诉当地部队人员及其家属选择“真正能为国家利益服务的”候选人——这被解读为支持由前将军领导的巩发党。

During the same trip, Min Aung Hlaing met with a National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) delegation at the Triangle Region Command, and discussed “peace and stability” and regional development.

在同一次访问中，敏昂莱在三角地区司令部会见了全国民主联盟军（NDAA）代表团，并讨论了“和平与稳定”和地区发展。

A junta delegation led by Aung Aung and Major General Soe Hlaing also visited Mongla, an area controlled by the NDAA, on Thursday and Friday, discussing “cooperation on development” in key areas such as education, healthcare, transportation and public welfare, according to the NDAA’s WeChat account.

据NDAA的b微信报道，由Aung Aung和sohlaing少将率领的军政府代表团周四和周五还访问了由NDAA控制的勐拉地区，讨论了在教育、医疗、交通和公共福利等关键领域的“发展合作”。

The regime is planning to hold elections in 267 out of 330 townships across Myanmar, and has been promulgating and amending relevant laws recently. Official campaigning is expected to start in late September.

该政权计划在全国330个乡镇中的267个乡镇举行选举，最近一直在颁布和修改相关法律。官方竞选活动预计将于9月底开始。

The junta’s talks with the UWSA and NDAA have prompted speculation about possible talks between the regime and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), which seized several towns in northern Shan State during Operation 1027, but was later forced to halt its offensive and retreat from the northern Shan State capital of Lashio in April under Chinese pressure. However, elections are unlikely in MNDAA-controlled territory.

军政府与UWSA和NDAA的谈判引发了人们对该政权与缅甸民族民主联盟军（MNDAA）之间可能进行谈判的猜测。MNDAA在1027行动中占领了掸邦北部的几个城镇，但后来在中国的压力下被迫停止进攻，并于4月从掸邦北部首府腊戍撤退。然而，在mndaa控制的地区不太可能举行选举。

The results of previous general elections in 2010, 2015 and 2020 suggest the USDP enjoys strong support in Shan State’s 55 townships.

2010年、2015年和2020年的大选结果表明，联邦巩固与发展党在掸邦的55个乡镇获得了强有力的支持。

The junta’s National Defense and Security Council on July 31 declared martial law in over 60 townships across Myanmar including towns in Kokang and Mongla, as it steps up efforts to restore stability ahead of the December polls. Hopang was the only town in the Wa Self-Administered Zone included in the martial law list. However, despite the town being part of the Wa Self-Administered Zone, it has been controlled by the Myanmar military for decades. No towns under the de facto control of the UWSA are included in the list.

7月31日，军政府的国防和安全委员会宣布在缅甸60多个城镇实施戒严令，包括果敢和勐拉镇，作为在12月大选前加紧恢复稳定的努力。Hopang是佤族自治区唯一一个被列入戒严名单的城镇。然而，尽管该镇是佤族自治区的一部分，但它已经被缅甸军方控制了几十年。佤联军实际控制下的城镇没有列入名单。

作者：伊洛瓦底江          来源：伊洛瓦底江