Myanmar ruling party chairman deposed ahead of polls

The head of Myanmar’s ruling party has been removed from office ahead of the country’s general elections.

According to reports, Shwe Mann, the chairman of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), was stripped of his post after Myanmarese security forces swarmed the party’s headquarters in the capital city of Naypyidaw overnight.

“Police entered the party compound last night. Since then no one was allowed in or out … It is strange that armed forces have restricted a political party in this way,” Mann’s son told AFP, adding that his father’s residence is also surrounded by the “so-called guards.”

Other high-ranking government officials have also been removed from their posts, the reports added.