Leaders axed as Myanmar ruling party’s offices raided

Two of Myanmar’s most senior politicians have been removed from office, amid reports that security forces entered the headquarters of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Late on Wednesday, security forces surrounded the headquarters of the USDP and prevented party members from leaving, while an internal meeting was being held on the selection of candidates for the November 8 polls.

A tussle for control of the USDP between the military and the party administration has been taking place ahead of the November elections.

Both USDP Secretary-General Maung Maung Thein and the parliament speaker Shwe Mann, who is also the president of the USDP, have been removed from their positions, reports said. 

“They called me and told me that I don’t need to come to the office any more,” Thein told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Thursday.

Thein said he was at home and had not been at the USDP headquarters during the raid.

Al Jazeera’s Veronica Pedrosa said that people inside the headquarters were not allowed to leave and nobody was allowed to enter the building.

“Maung Maung Thein has not got a notification that his movements are restricted,” Pedrosa said.

“This is very much about Myanmar’s military wanting their candidates to run in the elections. Many former military members, who left the army to run, were not on the candidate list.”

Tensions have been building for months between President Thein Sein and parliament speaker Shwe Mann, both of whom have expressed an interest in leading the country.