A local authority office in eastern Burma’s Bago division being used by Election Commission officials was the target of a bombing on Wednesday night.

No casualties were reported following the incident at the Ward Peace and Development Council (WPDC) office in Bago township’s Okthar Myothit 8 ward. Locals said that a wall of the office was blown open by the explosion, which occurred around 9pm on 29 September.

Reuters reported that Election Commission officials were using the office to coordinate the local ballot for the 7 November elections, but had closed the office 45 minutes before the bombing. Some local sources told DVB that the explosion happened outside of the office.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported today that the bombing was the work of “insurgents, destructive elements and political opportunists” attempting to derail the polls, Burma’s first in 20 years.

It added that a the device was a “hand-made TNT time bomb which had exploded just outside the back fence of the office”.

Police and local authorities in Bago were unavailable for comment.