People’s Pioneer Party founder Thet Thet Khine disqualified by Union Election Commission

The regime Union Election Commission (UEC) told pro-regime media on Saturday that the founder and chairperson of the People’s Pioneer Party (PPP) Thet Thet Khine is disqualified from running for a seat in the Amyotha Hluttaw, or the upper house of parliament, in the upcoming regime elections scheduled to begin on Dec. 28. 

The UEC cited Section 8(d) of the Amyotha Hluttaw Election Law for the disqualification in its written response that surfaced on social media on Oct. 25. The law states that a candidate must be free from any improper financial obligations to the state or to any private individual.

Thet Thet Khine is rumored to owe an unspecified amount in loans to KBZ Bank, as well as a private bank. The jewelry magnate served as the regime Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement from 2021-23, and the Minister for Hotels and Tourism from 2023 until January 2025. 

Thet Thet Khine also served as a National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker in the Pyithu Hluttaw, or the lower house of parliament, from 2016-2021. She left the NLD after being suspended from the party for criticizing State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi in September 2018.