YANGON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar President U Win Myint has urged the Union Election Commission to hear the voices of political parties as part of its obligation to strictly supervise the parties to hold the upcoming free and fair by-election, Myanmar News Agency reported Saturday.
U Win Myint told the commission in Nay Pyi Taw on Friday to prepare for the by-election and become a reliable and trustworthy commission for the people.
The commission has set Nov. 3 for holding a by-election to fill vacant seats in the parliament, and designated July 2 as the date for submission of candidates to run in the by-election.
The closing date for the submission is set for July 11 and the list of candidates will be announced on Aug. 6, the commission said.
There is a total of 13 vacant parliamentary seats -- four with the House of Representative (Lower House), one with the House of Nationalities (Upper House) and eight with the state parliaments.
It will be the second by-election during the tenure of the government, led by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), and the first polling after U Win Myint was elected as the new president.
In the last general election on Nov. 8, 2015, the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats.