Five parties eligible for general election suggest victory for Myanmar army

None of the five political parties that meet the criteria to contest a general election in Myanmar can challenge the military’s grip on power, an opposition official said on Tuesday, urging the groups to boycott any vote led by board.

So far, 23 political parties have applied to register for elections expected later this year, but only five meet the criteria to run in nationwide general elections, all of which are led by ex-military personnel or represent groups. minority ethnics.

they are the Union Solidarity and Development Party, National Unity Party, Union Democratic Party, Public Contribution Students Democratic Party and Shan Nationalities Democratic Party. The other 18 will compete locally in their states and regions.

Opponents and analysts say new stricter eligibility requirements, approved in january by the military who seized control of the government in a February 2021 coup, favor military-aligned parties and seek to legitimize the junta through fake polls planned for later this year.

“The law on the registration of political parties was enacted illegally by the (junta) and it is in no way acceptable,” Burmese Bo Bo Oo, a former Yangon lawmaker from the ousted National League for Democracy, told RFA.

“I don’t want political parties to register under the new junta law,” he said. “I don’t want them to recognize the new registration law, as it may help the legitimacy of the board.”

stricter criteria

The new law sets higher thresholds for membership and minimum funds, preventing smaller parties from registering.

PParties hoping to compete in national elections must have at least 100,000 members and a war fund of at least 100 million kyat (US$45,000). Those planning to run in state or regional elections will need to have at least 1,000 members and 10 million kyat ($4,500).

The new law also requires parties to re-register with the Union Election Commission within 60 days of its approval. Therefore, parties must re-register by the end of March at the latest or they will be considered dissolved.

Absent from the existing pool of 19 applicants is the NLD, the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi that won the 2020 election in a landslide. Today Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint are in prison, serving 33 and 12 years respectively.

Some opponents of the military are urging a boycott of the elections, for which the junta has yet to announce a date. They warn that smaller parties that participate will likely lose and will only lend credence to what they say is a fake ballot.

Only the USDP, which ran the country as a quasi-civilian government under then-President Thein Sein after an opposition boycott of 2010 elections held by the previous junta, is seen as a legitimate contender in 2023. The party, which serves as the junta’s electoral representative, challenged the NLD’s election victory based on allegations of fraud, and assumed Myanmar’s presidency following the 2021 coup.

But other groups, including the Shan and the Ethnic Nationalities Party believe that an election is the only way to restore civilian rule in Myanmar.

“There will be a civilian government in some form after the elections,” said party leader Sai Ai Pao, who also led the efforts of a group of political parties to negotiate with the junta during the peace talks and in January was given an honorary civilian title by the head of the junta, Commanding General Min Aung Hlaing.

“Since we want to take the path of democracy, the election is a route that we must take.

Election is ‘practicing democracy’

Khin Maung Thein, who heads the political committee of the National Unity Party, a party formed in the 1960s by former junta leader General Ne Win, told RFA that participation in the upcoming elections is participation in the democracy.

“The election means that we are practicing the democratic way. I believe that the elections are the only way that the people can express their true will,” he said. “Our party has never boycotted an election based on who leads the election preparations.”

The People’s Pioneer Party, one of 14 other parties contesting the local elections, is led by former junta Social Welfare and Resettlement Minister Thet Thet Khaing.

“We participate in elections to improve people’s social lives,” party spokesman Myo Set Thway told RFA. “Only when we have the authority to act and speak in the interest of the people, can we improve people’s lives.”

He said the party’s goals can only be achieved if it can form a significant part of a government administration.

Dummy election?

The new board registration criteria were introduced amid widespread concerns about Myanmar’s upcoming elections.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned in November that a junta-run election cannot be free and fair, according to a statement from the US embassy in Myanmar.

Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, told RFA that the parties participating in the junta election are doing so for their own private interests and will not be able to meet the needs of the people.

“They hope to gain some authority,” he said. “They are not adequate to represent all the people of Myanmar and to be able to meet their needs. I think that is the reason why they have been approved to participate in the elections”.

Political analysts have also pointed out that it is unfair for the junta to cancel the results of the 2020 election in which the NLD won a majority of seats, essentially declaring a replay.

However, several of the parties contacted by RFA believe that the current political crisis can only be resolved through a vote.

Than Than Nu, chairperson of the Union Democratic Party and daughter of former prime minister U Nu, told RFA that the number of people who vote in the junta election will determine whether it was fair for the military to cancel the results of the previous election. and declare a new one.

“After the people have voted, if the election results turn out to be the same as before, that will be the answer,” he said. “We will see it clearly during the elections.”

Several armed resistance groups that have been fighting the junta government have already declared that they will not support or recognize a junta-led election, as the NLD has done.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Eugene Whong and Joshua Lipes.